A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams and the Weld County Jail of unconstitutionally censoring mail that was sent to inmates.
A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams and the Weld County Jail of unconstitutionally censoring mail that was sent to inmates. The Human Rights Defense Center filed the lawsuit in the Colorado District Court to challenge the censorship of mail sent to Weld County Jail inmates and its ability to appeal the censorship claims, with the Weld County Commissioners, Reams, Undersheriff Donnie Patch, Captain Marcy Roles-Foos and several jail employees named as defendants, according to the complaint.
The center also petitioned the court to order jail officials to stop the censorship immediately as the material it sent to inmates poses no threat to jail security or inmate safety, according to a motion for preliminary injunction filed alongside the lawsuit. The Weld County Sheriff’s Office is not able to comment on the lawsuit pending the ongoing litigation, department spokesperson Melissa Chesmore said. Between August 2025 and March, the center mailed inmates at least 114 educational publications and other mail items that were censored by jail officials, according to the lawsuit. All 114 pieces of correspondence were censored and sent back to the center as rejected mail, return to sender mail or unauthorized packages. The returned mail sometimes came with reasons for the censorship, such as the fact that the mail was books, news clippings or internet articles, which are prohibited by the jail, according to the lawsuit. The center was not given the opportunity to appeal the censorship decisions. The center wants the court to order the jail to give it an opportunity to appeal the mail rejections as well as a meaningful reason for the rejection, according to the injunction motion. The center in its suit claims the censorship has violated its First Amendment right to free speech and its 14th Amendment right to due process by censoring and rejecting material it sends to prisoners and by not allowing the center to appeal the censorship decisions. The center’s mission is to educate prisoners who are seeking legal advice and information about their rights, according to the lawsuit, and part of the way it does this is sending books, magazines, periodicals and other information to inmates. The center also states that it sends information to thousands of correctional facilities across the country, but Weld County Jail states it is against its mail policy, according to the complaint. The United States Supreme Court has recognized that inmates have the right to read and correspond with the outside world, according to the lawsuit. Books, magazines, newspapers, and material that advocates for violence or that would compromise jail safety are some of the reasons material may be censored by the jail, according to the Weld County Jail Detention Manual. In the center’s suit, it also stated its publications and mail to inmates pose no threat to the safety and security of the jail and that the prisoners often have no other means of learning more about their legal and civil rights. The center is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against jail officials, as well as compensatory and punitive damages, according to the lawsuit.Another longtime Denver-area brewery set to close its doors in JuneA day in the life of a child-free Coloradan — and the child care that makes it possibleWolf wandered through parts of Jefferson, Douglas counties in March Denver’s $1 billion road overhaul would cut space for cars, boost public transit. Critics say it will make traffic worse. Denver's $1 billion road overhaul would cut space for cars, boost public transit. Critics say it will make traffic worse.Broncos owner Greg Penner turns up pressure on new stadium talks, calls Burnham Yard timeline 'ambitious'
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