On August 20, 2025, the Cornell First Amendment Clinic filed a complaint in federal court in Vermont on behalf of Devon Kurtz, a former volunteer Quaker minister at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, VT, against three individuals working on behalf of Vermont’s Department of Corrections (“VTDOC”).

The suit alleges that VTDOC officials violated Kurtz’s First Amendment rights to speak freely on matters of public concern and to freely exercise his religion. It further argues that VTDOC unconstitutionally retaliated against Kurtz by firing him from his position as a volunteer minister several months after he published the book Sketches from Behind Prison Walls. Sketches, published in collaboration with the Quaker Institute for the Future, explores the harsh realities of incarceration through drawings and written excerpts by men incarcerated at SSCF alongside commentary by Kurtz. The book encompasses a nuanced critique of modern-day mass incarceration while simultaneously promoting the Quaker practice of speaking out on issues of public concern and social justice.

The complaint alleges that the content of Sketches was the unconstitutional reason for Kurtz’s firing. Accordingly, he seeks reinstatement through this lawsuit.

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