Inmates in state and federal prisons file hundreds of thousands of grievances every year, and grievance programs peacefully resolve countless disputes at an administrative level, without litigation. To make these grievance programs more effective and avoid needless tension between inmates and officers, most states and the federal government prohibit abusive, disrespectful, or threatening language in grievances. But the Ninth Circuit has held, in a series of cases, that such restrictions violate the First Amendment. Based on this conclusion, the Ninth Circuit here held that a Washington correctional officer violated an inmate's clearly established First Amendment rights when he directed the inmate to omit such content. Five other circuits and many state courts have held that similar restrictions are constitutional. The question presented is:

Do prison inmates have a First Amendment right to include threatening, abusive, and irrelevant language in grievances?

Do prison inmates have a First Amendment right to include threatening, abusive, and irrelevant language in grievances?