96 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 2987, 96 Daily Journal D.A.R. 4967 Timothy Dale O'Keefe v. Ronald Van Boening, Wsp Associate Superintendent James Spalding, Director Dop Carol A. Murphy, Assistant Attorney General of Washington

82 F.3d 322 96 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 2987 , 96 Daily Journal D.A.R. 4967 Timothy Dale O'KEEFE, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Ronald VAN BOENING, WSP Associate Superintendent; James Spalding, Director DOP; Carol A. Murphy, Assistant Attorney General of Washington, Defendants-Appellants. No. 94-35845. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Nov. 16, 1995. Decided April 30, 1996. Douglas W. Carr, Assistant Attorney General, Olympia, Washington, for defendants-appellants. Erika Balasz, Lukins & Annis, Spokane, Washington, for plaintiff-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington; Alan A. McDonald, District Judge, Presiding. Before: BOOCHEVER, FERNANDEZ, and KLEINFELD, Circuit Judges. BOOCHEVER, Circuit Judge: 1 A state prisoner sued various prison officials pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1988), alleging that the prison's mail policy violated his First Amendment right to seek redress for grievances. Under the prison's mail policy, "legal mail," although broadly defined, does not include grievances sent by prisoners to some state agencies or officials. Consequently, for the purpose of inspecting for…