ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Human Rights Defense Center has filed a lawsuit against the Metropolitan Detention Center over its paper book ban.
The suit, filed on Dec. 4, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, names Bernalillo County, County Manager Cindy Chavez, MDC Warden Steven Smith, and other officials as defendants. HRDC claims MDC violated a previous settlement by banning books and magazines sent to prisoners.
“Prisoners have a well-established right to receive books and magazines via the mail from publishers and vendors,” said Paul Wright, HRDC’s executive director. “It is outrageous that we are having to fight to vindicate rights which were established decades ago.”…