Riker v. Lemmon, No. 14-2910 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseWhile working as an employee of a contractor at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, Rebecca Riker engaged in a romantic relationship with inmate Vest. When the relationship became known, her employment ended. She later requested to be allowed to visit Vest. Prison officials denied those requests because the institution’s policy prohibits visitation by former employees. Riker and Vest later submitted an application to marry, which prison officials also denied, because Riker was not on the visitors list. Riker filed suit. The district court granted the defendants summary judgment, finding that prohibiting Riker from visiting Vest was reasonable and that this restriction did not unconstitutionally burden her right to marry. The Seventh Circuit reversed in part, finding that, based on the summary judgment record, the defendants failed to adequately justify refusal to permit the marriage. Acknowledging defendants’ arguments that a former employee who previously violated Department policies is more likely to engage in other prohibited acts and that a former employee might share with an inmate confidential information obtained while employed at the prison, the court stated that nothing in the record supported equating general visitation with a single marriage ceremony.
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