dissenting.
A funny thing happened to this case on the way to this forum: a metamorphosis occurred. Whether analyzed in its present or original formulation, however, the matter should be reversed and dismissed. Accordingly, I dissent.
*152I. BACKGROUND
Weiler is an eighty-two-year-old sex offender who is incarcerated in Missouri after conviction in 1989, at age seventy-three', of one count of sodomy and two counts of first degree sexual abuse of a ten-year-old female child. He had apparently been abusing her since she was seven. State v. Weiler, 801 S.W.2d 417, 418 (Mo.Ct.App.1990). Since being incarcerated, he has become a frequent litigator in federal court.1
The major allegation in Weiler’s initial complaint was summarized by the district court in its order preceding Weiler’s first appeal, Weiler v. Purkett, No. 93-2041, 1995 WL 21660 (8th Cir.1995) (per curiam) (Weiler I) as follows: “defendants wrongfully confiscated and destroyed a package that contained legal materials [Weiler] needed in order to pursue post-conviction relief procedures.” Weiler v. Purkett, No. 91-2294 C(2), mem. op. at 3 (E.D.Mo. Oct. 14, 1992).
The package was, without dispute, marked “From R. Weiler” who is allegedly Weiler’s son. He is not a lawyer, judge or other public official. Weiler contends that the parcel was also labeled “legal mail” (the court in its current opinion says “legal papers”) and such allegation must be taken as true at this stage of the litigation. The contents, according to Weiler, were a trial transcript and, perhaps, other legal papers which Weiler wanted to use to prepare an additional state court postconviction pleading and/or a federal habeas petition.
There is also no dispute that Embly, the prison mailroom supervisor, confiscated the package and sent Weiler a contraband notice. The notice gave him at least four choices for disposition of the mailing: it could be returned by mail to the sender if Weiler provided the postage; he could have someone who visited him remove the package from the prison; he could have the package destroyed; or he could pursue an appeal of the confiscation within the procedural framework set forth in the prison rules. He availed himself of none of these opportunities and the package was destroyed by prison officials. Some months later, the state provided Weiler with another copy of the destroyed transcript.
Although the nature of his claims was not completely clear from the pleadings, the district court assumed that Weiler was asserting a two-pronged First Amendment violation, an abridgement of his right to receive mail and interference with meaningful access to the court. Both of these interests are protectible under the Constitution.
Regulations relevant to these rights were in place at Farmington. Incoming “privileged mail” may be received from “ ‘judges, attorneys, courts, elected government officials, departmental and divisional administrators ... [as] determined by the return address.’” Id. at 8 (quoting MDCHR Procedure for Inmate Mail. No. IS13-1.1(II)(B)) (emphasis added). Packages, on the other hand, received for delivery to an inmate “must be from an approved vendor, except packages containing dress-out clothing for inmates scheduled for release from the institution within 30 days, and those [packages] previously approved, in writing, by the Superintendent.” Id. at 9 (quoting FEE Standard Operating Procedure No. 13-1.1(III)(E)). There is no dispute that “R. Weiler” is not an approved vendor as contemplated by the regulation. Neither was the package preapproved by the superintendent.
The dispute reached the district court on cross-motions for summary judgment. The defense raised by Embly and Purkett was based upon qualified immunity.
It is clear that Weiler did not, in any motion or paper placed before the district court prior to Weiler I, attack the validity of these regulations. He challenged only their *153application to his particular package because of his claim that it was marked “legal mail.” Thus, the district court assumed the validity of the relevant regulations. Id. at 10. The district court, finding no underlying constitutional misconduct, dismissed the case. Id. at 13, 16. Applying Pletka v. Nix, 957 F.2d 1480, 1485 (8th Cir.1992), the court asserted that it need not discuss the issue of qualified immunity. Memo. Op. of Oct. 14, 1992 at 13.2
In Weiler I, Weiler appealed the district court’s dismissal. Counsel was appointed and briefing was completed. On appeal, Weiler still made no claim that the Farming-ton mail regulations violated the Constitution (or any other particular standard). His argument on appeal was twofold: one, that since his package was marked “legal mail,” its destruction violated his First Amendment right of access to the courts;3 and, two, that the prison regulations themselves were violated because they did not provide for destruction of a confiscated package. There was not a word in Weiler’s briefs challenging the validity of the mailroom regulations. Indeed, Weiler explained that he “is not challenging the constitutionality of the [Farmington] procedure; he is challenging the application of the policy to his package.” Reply Brief of Appellant in 93-2041 at 5. Nonetheless, the court in Weiler I ignored the “regulation validity” stance of Weiler and held that an affidavit of ten other inmates that they had purportedly received legal mail packages from friends and relatives, created for Weiler a fact question as to the constitutional validity of the Farming-ton mail regulations. The court first framed the issue as to whether “the affidavit ... created an issue of fact as to whether defendants neutrally applied the regulation.” Weiler I at *1-2.4 Then, although the regulations were not challenged by Weiler, the court on its own transformed the dispute into a rules validity question saying: “We hold that Weiler presented sufficient evidence to withstand summary judgment; the affidavit signed by the ten inmates raised a material issue of fact as to whether the package regulations are arbitrary and not reasonably related to a legitimate government interest.” Id. at *2. The court, without analysis, declared that the defendants were not entitled to qualified immunity, although, as earlier indicated, the district court had not made a determination on that issue. Id.
Upon remand to the district court through Weiler I, Embly and Purkett renewed their request for summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity. They filed additional affidavits, not rebutted by Weiler, stating that neither of them participated in or had knowledge of any misapplication of prison mail regulations with regard to the ten inmates.
Noting that these “statements [by Embly and Purkett] do not address whether the [package] regulation itself [is] reasonable,” the district court denied the motion for summary judgment. Weiler v. Purkett, No. 91-2294 C(2), memo. op. at 9 (E.D.Mo. Nov. 17, 1995). Embly and Purkett again appeal.
II. DISCUSSION
A. Procedure
We reach the basic constitutional issues upon a denial of summary judgment only because of the qualified immunity defense asserted by the defendants. The threshold *154question underlying a qualified immunity claim is whether the plaintiff has alleged a constitutional violation at all. Thomas v. Hungerford, 23 F.3d 1450, 1452 (8th Cir.1994) (citing Siegert v. Gilley, 500 U.S. 226, 232, 111 S.Ct. 1789, 1793, 114 L.Ed.2d 277 (1991)). Then, if a constitutional violation has occurred, a concomitant question must be answered: was the constitutional right clearly established at the time the defendants acted with regard to Weiler’s package? Siegert, 500 U.S. at 233, 111 S.Ct. at 1793. Thus, the first consideration is whether Weiler has alleged a violation of any constitutional right in the first instance.
B. Constitutionality of the Rules
It is, as the court stated in Weiler I, well settled that an inmate has a First Amendment right to receive mail. Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401, 405, 109 S.Ct. 1874, 1877, 104 L.Ed.2d 459 (1989). Likewise, the First Amendment generally protects a prisoner’s access to the courts via the mail. Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 819, 97 S.Ct. 1491, 1493, 52 L.Ed.2d 72 (1977). These constitutional rights may, however, be limited by prison regulations that are reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 89, 107 S.Ct. 2254, 2261, 96 L.Ed.2d 64 (1987); Thongvanh v. Thalacker, 17 F.3d 256, 258-59 (8th Cir.1994). While Turner sets out four factors for consideration of the validity of prison regulations, we need not concern ourselves with them here. The Supreme Court in Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 576-77, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 2985, 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974), has said:
We think it entirely appropriate that the State require any such communications to be specially marked as originating from an attorney, with his name and address being given, if they are to receive special treatment. It would also certainly be permissible that prison authorities require that a lawyer desiring to correspond with a prisoner, first identify himself and his client to the prison officials to assure that the letters marked privileged are actually from members of the bar.
Id. (emphasis supplied) (original emphasis omitted).
So, it is abundantly clear that the Farm-ington legal mail rule, being even more generous to inmates than the Wolff requirements, passes constitutional muster as a matter of law. Since the package came from a family member, not a person or entity specified in the rule, it was not legal mail. I do not understand that either the court or Weiler now contends otherwise.
The next question, then, is whether the Farmington package policy violates the Constitution. For this inquiry, we start with Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979) wherein the Supreme Court validated a total ban on the receipt of packages containing food or personal property except for one package of food at Christmas,5 saying, “[i]t is all too obvious that such packages are handy devices for the smuggling of contraband.” Id. at 555, 99 S.Ct. at 1882. This court, applying Bell in Jensen v. Klecker, 648 F.2d 1179 (8th Cir.1981), recognized this holding when we said “[i]nstitu-tions may impose restrictions on the receipt of packages from outside the penitentiaries.” Id. at 1183.
Other circuits have reached the same result. In Scalice v. Davies, No. 92-36909, 1994 WL 192430 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 115 S.Ct. 270, 130 L.Ed.2d 188 (1994), the Ninth Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment in favor of a mailroom clerk who had confiscated a package sent to an inmate. The court held, “[ejnforcement of prison regulations which prohibit a prisoner from receiving materials that are not shipped directly from a publisher or retailer does not violate clearly established [constitutional] rights.” Id. at *2.
So, the package rule in play in this litigation is clearly constitutional as a matter of law. Weiler recognized as much until our erroneous opinion in Weiler I prompted him to change his stance in this later appeal.
*155As earlier noted, Weiler filed an affidavit of ten Farmington inmates claiming that on unspecified dates under unstated circum-' stances from unidentified mailroom personnel each of them had received legal papers and transcripts from “family or friends.” Applying Griffin v. Lombardi, 946 F.2d 604 (8th Cir.1991), the court, in Weiler I and in this opinion, holds that this affidavit is sufficient to subject a package regulation that otherwise passes constitutional muster under Supreme Court edict to “factual” uncertainty as to its reasonableness. This rationale simply misapplies Griffin and the law of this circuit.
Griffin relates to subject matter and not the mode or procedure applicable to receipt or distribution of the prison mail, whatever its contents may be. We held that Griffin had the right to receive his original college diploma and grade transcript via a mailing that otherwise complied with procedural regulations. Id. at 607. We likened the issue to the total ban on Aryan Nations white-supremacy material invalidated in Murphy v. Missouri Department of Corrections, 814 F.2d 1252 (8th Cir.1987).
Here, however, there is no dispute that Weiler is entitled to receive “legal mail.” He must, however, receive it under the rules established by Farmington, rules which the Supreme Court has said are constitutionally valid. Wolff, 418 U.S. at 577, 94 S.Ct. at 2985. Weiler (and the court) now questions the reasonability of a “package rule” which Weiler seeks to manipulate to evade the “legal mail” rule in place at Farmington. In essence, Weiler is simply frustrated at his inability, until the court intervened, to exploit the mail regulations to his advantage. Weiler has a right to receive mail and to access the court but not on his own terms. He must do so under rules designed to limit the flow of contraband into the prison.
Like the legal mail regulation at Farming-ton, the package rule exceeds, in favor of inmates, package regulations validated in Bell and Jensen. And, violation of a state prison regulation that exceeds the requirements of the Constitution does not support a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim. Brown v. Nix, 33 F.3d 951, 954 n. 2 (8th Cir.1994). Accordingly, I disagree with the holding of the court with regard to Weiler’s new challenge to the reasonability of the Farmington legal mail or package policies.
Whether the ten inmates, in violation of the mailing procedures at Farmington, did or did not receive legal papers mailed by relatives and friends is, of course, a factual question. The “ultimate conclusion as to constitutionality” of a regulation is, however, a question of law. Hill v. Blackwell, 774 F.2d 338, 343 (8th Cir.1985). So, assuming, for sake of argument, that ten inmates did receive legal papers from relatives and Mends, the question remains, in the final analysis, whether this court, with the Supreme Court’s guidance, finds, as a matter of law, that the mail regulations at Farmington pass or fail constitutional muster. Under Supreme Court precedent, we must find they do. Even if 100 inmates had received religious literature, college diplomas, or legal papers through a negligent, or even willful, breakdown in mailroom procedures, and were willing to state so by affidavit, the reasonableness of legal mail or package regulations, designed to control receipt of contraband to inmates, would be no less constitutional.
C. Qualified Immunity
The defendants claim that they are entitled to qualified immunity. That means, of course, that even if the mail rules are somehow of questionable constitutionality, which they are not, immunity extends to the defendants if “their conduct does not violate clearly established ... constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 2738, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982) (emphasis added). A right is “clearly established” for qualified immunity purposes if
[T]he contours of the right [are] sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what [she] is doing violates that right. This is not to say that an official action is protected by qualified immunity unless the very action in question has previously been held unlawful, but it is to say that in the light of preexisting law, the unlawfulness must be apparent.
*156Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 3039, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987) (citation omitted).
Whether a constitutional right is clearly established, is a question decided under an objective standard. “Its application to a particular defendant’s conduct is a question of law that ordinarily should be decided by the court long before trial.” Swenson v. Trickey, 995 F.2d 132, 133 (8th Cir.) (citations omitted). Thus, to remand this , case for trial on substantive section 1983 issues because there is a purported fact question on the reasona-bility of a prison mail regulation, the language of which is undisputed and which the Supreme Court, through established precedent, has validated, is a difficult result to understand.
“The threshold [legal] question in analyzing a qualified immunity claim is whether the plaintiff has alleged a constitutional violation ... at all.” Thomas v. Hungerford, 23 F.3d 1450, 1452 (8th Cir.1994) (citing Siegert v. Gilley, 500 U.S. 226, 232, 111 S.Ct. 1789, 1793, 114 L.Ed.2d 277 (1991)). Then, if a constitutional violation has occurred, a concomitant question of law must be determined: was the constitutional right, as defined by Anderson v. Creighton, clearly established at the time the defendants acted with regard to Weiler’s package? Siegert, 500 U.S. at 232, 111 S.Ct. at 1793.
Given the holdings in Turner, Thongvanh, Scalice, Wolff and Jensen and numerous other cases in this and other circuits, the answer to both questions must be a resounding “no.” The defendants are clearly entitled to .qualified immunity.
III. CONCLUSION
The Farmington mail regulations pass, as an initial matter, constitutional muster and, if they arguably do not, confiscation and destruction of Weiler’s package did not abridge rights that were so clearly established that a reasonable mailroom attendant and prison superintendent would have understood that a violation was occurring. Thus, the holding of the district court should be reversed and the ease dismissed. I dissent.
. See Tyler v. Carnahan, No. 94-CV-17 (E.D. Mo. filed January 6, 1994) (Weiler participating as one of many plaintiffs, filing numerous pro se motions); Weiler v. Purkett, No. 93-CV-2260 (E.D. Mo. filed October 22, 1993); Tyler v. Perry, No. 93-CV-939 (E.D. Mo. filed April 23, 1993) (Weiler participating on claim that confiscation of his property violated Constitution); Weiler v. Purkett, No. 92-CV-1082 (E.D. Mo. filed June 10, 1992); Tyler v. Ashcraft, No. 92-CV-1386 (E.D. Mo. filed July 16, 1992) (Weiler, one of the plaintiffs, submitted multiple pro se filings until court ordered clerk to accept no more filings from individual litigants; Weiler’s continuing filings not accepted thereafter); Weiler v. Purkett, No. 91-CV-2294 (E.D. Mo. filed November 8, 1991).
. It was probably error for our ruling in Weiler I not to have at least remanded the case to the district court for a ruling on the qualified immunity defense rather than making a peremptory ruling on that issue at the appellate level. Ford v. Dowd, 931 F.2d 1286, 1294 (8th Cir.1991).
. The district court noted in its October 14, 1992, order of dismissal that Weiler’s meaningful access claim was without merit because he had not demonstrated that he had suffered prejudice from the nondelivery as required by our jurisprudence. Berdella v. Delo, 972 F.2d 204, 210 (8th Cir.1992). Since the state has provided Weiler with another copy of the transcript, it is doubtful that prejudice can be shown. Weiler has not renewed this claim in the current appeal by attempting to demonstrate specific prejudice as required by Berdella or by otherwise arguing this district court decision.
.Weiler has, however, never asserted an equal protection allegation and the court has not recognized such a claim in either of its opinions. In any event, it would have been frivolous to assert such a position under the undisputed facts of this action.
. I assume that there is no dispute that the contents of Weiler's package contained his "personal property.” We have frequendy labeled legal materials as "personal property." See Noorlander v. Ciccone, 489 F.2d 642, 651 (8th Cir.1973).