Judge Flushes Inmate's Complaint About Lack of Toilet Paper

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Delaware prison inmate who complained about running out of toilet paper.

The judge ruled Thursday that the lawsuit by Isaac Pierce was frivolous.

The ruling contains references to several other court decisions regarding toilet paper, or the lack of it, in prisons. Those rulings generally concluded that, while a temporary lack of toilet paper might be unpleasant, it does not violate an inmate's rights or, in the words of one court, does not present a question of “constitutional magnitude.”

The lawsuit was filed last year by Pierce and two cellmates, who were subsequently dismissed from the case. They alleged that they were forced to use newspapers after they were denied more toilet paper for two and a half days in August 2019.