ABSTRACT
The biological need for human interaction and contact is no different for prison and jail inmates; it does not disappear when the prison doors are closed behind those entering the facility. This chapter discusses inmates’ rights to visitation and association under the First Amendment. It first presents the case law regarding whether visitation is a liberty interest under the Due Process Clause, focusing on the Supreme Court cases Overton v. Bazzetta and Block v. Rutherford. The remainder of the chapter concentrates on specific types of associations, such as communications among inmates at different institutions, union formation, conjugal visits, media interviews, and meetings with attorneys.
