Lawsuit over web restrictions for releasees can proceed

Two Illinois men who were under court supervision for sex crimes can proceed with their claim that restrictions on their internet use violated their constitutional rights, a federal court ruled.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted summary judgment Monday to Jasen Gustafson and Marshall Hampton, alleging that Illinois Department of Corrections policies violate their right to a fair trial.

“Banning or restricting access to the Internet is a serious enough deprivation to require some protection from a bureaucratic black hole,” Judge Manish S. Shah said.

Gustafson and Hampton argued in a 2019 complaint against current and former prison …