James Nelson Blair, Plaintiff-appellant, v. E. Gums, Correctional Officer, Defendant-appellee, 127 F.3d 1104 (9th Cir. 1997)

MEMORANDUM^* 

James A. Blair, a California state prisoner, appeals pro se the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant in Blair's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. Blair contends that defendant Gums violated his First Amendment rights by prohibiting him from receiving a book entitled "Strategies and Tactics for the Multi-State Bar Exam" on the grounds that it had not been ordered through an approved vendor. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

We agree with the district court that the law as to approved vendors and publisher-only requirements with respect to soft-cover books is not clearly established. See Keenan v. Hall, 83 F.3d 1083, 1093 (9th Cir. 1996) (noting that while the Supreme Court has upheld a publishers only challenge applied exclusively to hardback books, a broader ban "may not survive challenge"); see also May v. Baldwin, 109 F.3d 557, 561 (9th Cir. 1997) (stating a right is clearly established if at the time the right was allegedly violated, "its contours were sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right"), cert. denied, 1997 WL 473960 (U.S. Oct 14, 1997). Accordingly, we agree with the district court's conclusion that Defendant Gums was entitled to qualified immunity. See May, 109 F.3d at 561.

AFFIRMED.