Inmate Mark Jordan sued when mailroom workers withheld books, including the "Kama Sutra," that were sent to him.
A 1996 law bars the use of government funds to distribute materials to prisoners that are sexually explicit or feature nudity.
Jordan, who’s serving time for bank robbery and murder, argued that the practice violated his First Amendment and due process rights. He was reportedly refused delivery of D.H. Lawrence's "Divas and Lovers," the "Kama Sutra," Juxtapoz Art & Culture magazine and The New Yorker.
U.S. District Court Judge Edward Nottingham said that the practice didn’t violate Jordan's constitutional rights, but he told the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to keep the materials until administrative appeals in the case were finished.