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Judge bars litigious prisoner from future filings

The Kentucky inmate has filed over 5,000 lawsuits since 2006

By Brett Barrouquere
The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge has put a stop to new legal actions by an inmate in Kentucky who has filed more than 5,000 lawsuits and targeted the famous, the infamous and even the long-dead.

Under an order issued Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Karl F. Forester, the Bureau of Prisons can review and reject any legal mail sent by Jonathan Lee Riches.

Since 2006, Riches has filed lawsuits in nearly every jurisdiction in the country, court documents show. Prosecutors said he had filed more than 3,800 suits. The judge said it was over 5,000.

The 33-year-old inmate at the federal prison in Lexington has sued New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, former President George W. Bush, then-Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and even Somali pirates.