Gabriel Tynes writes: “An appeal of a lower court January 14 became an inquiry into the broader First Amendment question of whether an inmate’s limited access to reading materials amounted to a de facto ban on books, religious materials and newspapers. A three-judge Eighth Circuit panel heard arguments after officials from Washington County, Arkansas, sought qualified immunity from a lawsuit filed by an inmate who claims his constitutional rights were violated by the jail’s policy limiting access to certain reading materials to electronic tablets and kiosks.”