Kevin Schrubb, Sr. v. James Tilton

MEMORANDUM

1. Assuming Schrubb had a protected property interest in the children’s books, we find no procedural due process violation where the prison gave Schrubb ample notice of the prison’s mail out policy, which is apparently applied to both unauthorized and unwanted property. See Nev. Dep’t of Corr. v. Greene, 648 F.3d 1014, 1019 (9th Cir.2011). The prison also gave Schrubb plenty of opportunity to comply with that policy, allowing ample time for Schrubb to raise funds to pay for shipment of the books. Id.

2. We do not reach Schrubb’s substantive due process claim as he failed to raise this claim in the district court and cannot raise it for the first time on appeal. See Spurlock v. FBI, 69 F.3d 1010, 1017 (9th Cir.1995).

3. There was no equal protection violation. The prison demonstrated a “valid, rational connection” between (1) the requirement of using a common carrier (i.e., requiring a tracking number) for shipment of all packages and the legitimate government interest of defeating potential claims that a package was never received; and (2) the policy that Receiving and Release will hold prisoner property for only a limited amount of time and the legitimate government…