SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
IT IS HEREBY AGREED by and between Human Rights Defense Center
(“Plaintiff”) and the Board of County Commissioners of the County of Bernalillo
(“Defendant”), with regard to the claims brought in the matter of Human Rights Defense
Center v. Board of County Commissioners of the County of Bernalillo, et al., No. 1:25-cv01208-MIS-JFR (D.N.M., filed Dec. 4, 2025), as follows:
WHEREAS,
On December 4, 2025, Plaintiff filed suit against Defendant in the above-captioned
matter seeking injunctive and declaratory relief, damages, attorneys’ fees and costs
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Complaint alleges unconstitutional policies, customs
and/or practices regarding the delivery of publications and correspondence mailed to
persons incarcerated at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center (the “Jail”),
and the provision of inadequate notice and opportunity to challenge each refusal to
deliver Plaintiff’s mailings, in violation of the free speech and due process rights of
Plaintiff and other publishers and distributors of publications under the First and
Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.
The Complaint also brings a breach of contract claim against Defendant for its
breach of the 2015 Settlement Agreement entered between Plaintiff and Defendant in
Prison Legal News v. County of Bernalillo, et al., No. 1:15-cv-00107-SCY-KBM
(D.N.M. 2015), which obligates Defendant to deliver soft cover books mailed by Plaintiff
to persons incarcerated at the Jail and to provide Plaintiff with sufficient notice and an
opportunity to appeal censorship of its mailed soft cover books.

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On December 8, 2025, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction seeking
to enjoin censorship without due process of publications and correspondence that
Plaintiff mails to persons incarcerated at the Jail. On March 6, 2026, the Court entered a
Stipulated Order Granting Preliminary Injunction. See ECF No. 27.
In order to avoid the expense, delay, uncertainty, and burden of litigation regarding
Plaintiff’s claims, the parties have agreed to enter into a Settlement Agreement to resolve
all claims for relief against Defendant alleged in Plaintiff’s Complaint.
IT IS, THEREFORE, AGREED THAT:
1.

The Parties agree that, by this Settlement Agreement, together with the

payment of the sum of $300,000, all claims alleged by Plaintiff in the Complaint are
resolved subject to the terms stated in this Settlement Agreement. Within twenty-one
(21) days after this Settlement Agreement is fully executed, Defendant shall pay a total of
$300,000 for Plaintiff’s damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, by check or wire transfer to
the Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP Client Trust Account.
2.

The Parties agree that Defendant and its successors, officers, agents,

servants, employees, and contractors, and all others in active concert or participation with
them, shall comply with all of the terms of this Settlement Agreement, as follows, and
shall not take actions intended to evade compliance with or frustrate the purpose of this
Settlement Agreement:
a.

Defendant shall not censor, reject or refuse delivery of publications

or correspondence mailed by Plaintiff that are addressed to a specific person incarcerated

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at the Jail, and will deliver all such mailings to the incarcerated person to whom it is
addressed, except as provided in Paragraph (2)(b), below.
b.

Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent Defendant from rejecting,

withholding, or limiting delivery of any publication or correspondence that may be
rejected or censored based on a legitimate penological interest under the Turner v. Safley,
482 U.S. 78 (1987) factors.
c.

If Defendant censors, rejects or withholds delivery of any

publication or correspondence mailed by Plaintiff to a person incarcerated at the Jail,
Defendant shall provide written notice to HRDC and to the intended recipient that is
postmarked within five (5) business days after the decision to reject the material.
d.

The written notice shall identify:
(1) the publication or correspondence at issue;
(2) the name of the intended recipient;
(3) whether the material was rejected or redacted;
(4) identification of the objectionable portion of the publication or

correspondence;
(5) the reason for the rejection;
(6) a reference to the policy provision or rule the material is alleged
to violate; and
(7) notification of the right to appeal, and of the method and
procedural requirements for doing so.

[6055992.2]

e.

Plaintiff may submit a written appeal within thirty (30) calendar

days of receipt of the notice. The appeal shall be reviewed by a Jail official who was not
the original decision-maker. Defendant shall respond to the appeal within thirty (30)
calendar days of receipt.
f.

Rejected publications and correspondence shall be retained pending

the disposition of all appeals or until the time to appeal has expired, unless retention
would pose a safety or security concern.
g.

Nothing in this Agreement shall limit Defendant’s authority to take

immediate action, including temporary suspension or restriction of delivery of
publications or correspondence, where Defendant determines that emergency
circumstances exist affecting institutional safety, security, or order. Any such suspension
or restriction shall be narrowly tailored to the specific threat and shall not exceed
seventy-two (72) hours without a written determination by the Warden or designee that
continuation is necessary. Defendant shall provide written notice to HRDC within seven
(7) days of the action taken.
3.

Within thirty (30) days after this Settlement Agreement is fully executed,

Defendant shall establish, implement, and enforce mail policies and procedures at the Jail
that will fully effectuate the terms of Paragraph 2 of this Settlement Agreement, and that
apply those requirements regarding Plaintiff’s mailings to all PUBLISHERS—defined to
mean any commercial or non-profit publisher or distributor of printed materials, or any
book store that does mail order business or otherwise delivers publications to readers via
the United States Postal Service—to allow for the delivery of publications and
[6055992.2]

correspondence mailed to incarcerated persons by all PUBLISHERS under the same
circumstances as those required by this Settlement Agreement.
a.

Defendant shall revise its written mail policies and procedures as

necessary to reflect the terms of this Settlement Agreement, in accordance with Paragraph
3, above, and shall make such policies and procedures available in the ordinary course
through the Jail’s standard policy publication practices, including by posting the revised
policies and procedures on Defendant’s public website.
b.

Defendant shall provide training to all current mail clerks on the

terms of this Settlement Agreement within thirty (30) days of the execution of this
Settlement Agreement. Thereafter, Defendant shall provide annual training regarding
mail procedures, including the terms of this Settlement Agreement, consistent with its
normal training schedules.
c.

Defendant shall ensure that, whenever there is a change in leadership

at the Jail, any new Warden and/or Deputy Warden is provided a copy of this Settlement
Agreement and an explanation of the changes that were made to the Jail’s policies and
procedures in order to effectuate the Settlement Agreement.
4.

The Parties shall jointly request that the Court retain jurisdiction over this

case to enforce the terms of this Settlement Agreement unless and until jurisdiction is
terminated by stipulation of the Parties or by order of the Court. After seven (7) years
from the date that this Settlement Agreement is fully executed, either party may move the
Court to terminate jurisdiction.

[6055992.2]

5.

The Parties agree that, prior to the submission to the Court of the

Settlement Agreement, Plaintiff shall release all claims against the individual Defendants
in this matter, with the exception of Plaintiff’s claims for injunctive relief.
6.

In the event that Plaintiff learns of a breach of this Settlement Agreement,

Plaintiff agrees to give notice to Defendant at least thirty days prior to filing a motion to
enforce the Settlement Agreement in this Court and/or commencing a new action in
federal or state court, to provide for an opportunity for the Parties to attempt to resolve
the breach without further litigation. If the parties agree that Defendant has cured the
beach within 30 days of the date notice is provided, Plaintiff shall not file a motion to
enforce this Agreement or commence a new action in federal or state court. Notice shall
be provided by certified mail to the County Attorney’s Office and separately to the
County Clerk. If Defendant rejects three or more publications or correspondence mailed
by Plaintiff that are addressed to a specific person incarcerated at the Jail in any given
year, Plaintiff is not required to give Defendant notice and an opportunity to cure the
alleged breach pursuant to this provision of the Settlement Agreement.
7.

In the event that Defendant intends to make any material change to Jail mail

policies that would affect the delivery of publications covered by this Agreement,
Defendant shall provide written notice to Plaintiff at least fourteen (14) days prior to
implementing such change.
8.

The Parties agree that nothing in this Settlement Agreement is intended to

release or waive any claim, cause of action, or defense in law or equity that any party to

[6055992.2]

this Settlement Agreement may have against any person or entity that is not a party to this
Settlement Agreement.
9.

The Parties agree that this case concerns the First and Fourteenth

Amendment rights of a PUBLISHER, and is therefore not a case concerning prison
conditions as defined in the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996. The relief contained
in the Settlement Agreement is narrowly drawn, extends no further than necessary to
correct the harms alleged by Plaintiff and requiring injunctive relief, is the least intrusive
means necessary to correct the alleged harm, and will have no adverse impact on the
public safety or the operation of the criminal legal system.
10.

This Settlement Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts,

each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which shall constitute one and the
same Settlement Agreement.

By:

DATED: 09/29/2026

By:
Daniel Roberson
Deputy County Attorney for Board of
County Commissioners of the County of
Bernalillo

[6055992.2]

APPROVED AS TO FORM:
DATED:

C(/30 /'26

~----

LVAN & GRUNFELD LLP
By:

....

enjamin Bien-Kahn
Attorneys for Plaintiff

DATED:

09/29/2026

NEW MEXICO ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES
By: /s/ Brandon Huss
Brandon Huss
Attorneys for Defendant

16055992.2]