By Hailey Peck
The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday unanimously ruled that Iowa’s ban on using public money to distribute pornographic materials in state prisons is constitutional, marking a victory for Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird.
The Iowa Legislature in 2018 passed a law prohibiting the Iowa Department of Corrections from using any funds “to distribute or make available any commercially published information or material to an inmate when such information or material is sexually explicit or features nudity.”
Twelve inmates challenged the constitutionality of the law, citing free speech rights.
In the Friday ruling, the justices pointed to an earlier Beard v. Banks ruling that held “the Constitution sometimes permits greater restriction of such rights in a prison than it would allow elsewhere.”
The court ruled the inmate’s First Amendment rights were not violated by the prohibition and that the state regulation protected the safety of prison staff and inmates.
“Pornography doesn’t belong in prison, and certainly not on the Iowa taxpayers’ dime,” Attorney General Bird said in a statement. “If pornography is considered contraband for our troops during boot camp, it absolutely should not be provided at the taxpayers’ expense to those who are in prison. That’s just common sense, and I’m grateful for the Iowa Supreme Court’s unanimous decision affirming that.”
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