Editing Foreign languages in prisons (section)

==United States==

The US [[Court of Appeals]], Seventh Circuit, ruled in Kikumura v. Turner 28 F.3d 592 C.A.7(Ill).1994.  (see [http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?xmldoc=199462028F3d592_1526.xml&docbase=CSLWAR2-1986-2006]), that a blanket refusal to permit inmates to communicate or receive publications in a language other than English is unconstitutional. However, their ruling implies that the prison may still refuse to do so, if they have made a good faith effort to translate the materials or have they reviewed by a prison official who speaks the language, and found that such translation or review is not possible or too costly. But such an investigation of possibilities of review or translation must be made on a case-by-case basis, rather than a blanket prohibition without conducting such an analysis.

In 2005, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections banned "foreign language activities" at its prisons for security reasons.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=St. Gerard |first=Vanessa |date=August 2005 |title=Foreign Languages No Longer Banned in Wisc |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=17800179&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |access-date=2024-08-18 |work=Corrections Today |via=[[EBSCOhost]]}}</ref> However, the department reversed its decision later in the year when it realized that worship services conducted by volunteers, including a Spanish-language [[Bible study (Christianity)|Bible study]] group, were being canceled.<ref name=":0" />