[0] U.S. Appeals Court: RULES.

• Position: Brief Article

Murphy v. Shaw, 195 F.3d 1121 (9th Cir. 1999). An inmate law clerk filed a [sections] 1983 action for injunctive and declaratory relief alleging he was punished in violation of his constitutional rights for sending a letter containing legal advice to another inmate. The district court granted summary judgment for the defendants and the inmate appealed. The appeals court reversed and remanded with instructions. The appeals court held that the inmate was acting as a law clerk when he wrote the letter to another inmate and that the punishment imposed for sending the letter was an exaggerated response that violated the inmate's First Amendment rights. According to the court the letter was speech that would...