7th Circuit says court erred by upholding prison's refusal to allow inmate and former guard to marry
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A constitutional right to marry includes prison inmates and the guards. So a federal district judge erred in granting summary judgment to the Indiana Department of Corrections in a civil rights suit over a blocked wedding, a federal appeals court says.
In a unanimous ruling (PDF), a three-judge panel of the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held Friday that potential prison security risks involved in allowing the inmate, Paul Vest, and the former guard, Rebecca Riker, to marry were not a sufficient basis to overcome their fundamental right to marry each other, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports.
“Our case law is clear that the invocation of a general security interest, standing alone, is insufficient to support the department’s decision,” Chief Judge Diane Wood wrote. “Notably, the record does not reveal why prison officials would have difficulty monitoring the marriage ceremony to ensure that Ms. Riker does not violate prison regulations or relay sensitive information to Vest.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana represented Riker in the case.
The Indiana Law Blog also has a story.
Hat tip: The Statehouse File.
