Imam Jamil's Legal Victory

A FEDERAL appellate court has ruled Georgia prison officials may have improperly opened political prisoner Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin's mail when he was not present. Formerly known as H. Rap Brown, Imam Jamil was once the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the justice minister of the Black Panther Party.

In 2005, while incarcerated at Georgia State Prison in Reidsville, Imam Jamil sued prison officials for opening mail from his wife Karima, an attorney, outside his presence. In its decision last Monday, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the prison's mail practice interferes with protected attorney-client communications and impinges on free-speech rights.

Since filing the lawsuit, Al-Amin was transferred to Supermax, the nation's most secure federal prison, in Florence, Colo. The prison is known as the mainland Guantanamo.

Imam's wife, Sr. Karima Al-Amin writes:

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, on January 7, 2008, in our favour on a First Amendment violation of the opening of my legal mail.  We did not prevail on the access-to-courts claim because of lack of actual injury, but we have a victory to continue to trial, if necessary, with the strong First Amendment violation issue.

If we go to trial, the Imam may not be able to receive nominal and punitive damages because the Prison Litigation Reform Act bars an inmate from seeking those damages.

The AJC carried a small article two days on the decision--January 7, and 8, 2008.  The local news also carried the story of the legal victory.  The wonderful thing is that the Imam pursued this 1983 action on his own, pro se, and got a favourable ruling on the District Court level.  The State appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Imam still won. 

The attorneys for the Imam are from a major law firm and were appointed by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to represent the Imam on a pro bono case.  The firm had six to seven lawyers working on the case, and they argued the case in September before a three-judge panel. The decision is 38 pages.