MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (AP) -- U.S. Justice Department officials are visiting the Berkeley County jail in the center of a federal lawsuit over a policy barring inmates from reading materials other than the Bible.

Officials say DOJ attorneys plan to interview non-Christian inmates during their visit Monday.

The American Civil Liberties Union wants a judge to order jail officials to give inmates mail that includes the Prison Legal News, a newsletter published by the Human Rights Defense Center.

Inmates have been barred from reading the monthly legal journal. The ACLU in October sued the jail on the publication's behalf, arguing that jail officials are violating the magazine's and inmates' constitutional rights.

Part of the jail's justification for banning the journal includes an argument that the publication contains staples, which officials say pose a security risk.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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