The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld a ban on pornography in state prisons, overturning lower court rulings on a potential case.

The policy was issued by the Department of Corrections in November 2005; it gave until 2007 for prisoners to hand in or mail out the pornography they had at the time. The measure was to aid in rehabilitation and creation of a safe environment for prison workers.

Shannon Brittain, convicted rapist, filed suit, claiming that viewing pornography did not impair either objective. Brittain, acting as his own lawyer, offered the testimony of six other inmates to that effect.

Commonwealth Court denied the Department’s motion to dismiss the suit, but also denied Brittain’s motion for an injunction against the ban while the case was pending. When the Department appealed the dismissal decision, they showed that the rates of assaults had decreased since the ban.

The State Supreme Court ruled that the burden of proof was on Brittain anyway, and seven prisoners’ statements were not enough. They dismissed the case unanimously, but added that with more evidence, another suit was not out of the question.

The current policy bans material created to sexually arouse, or material with nudity, except on a case-by-case basis for works with potentially redeeming value.