Prison Litigation Research Articles

Perceptions of the Consequences of the Prison Litigation Reform Act: A Comparison of State Attorneys General and Federal District Judges

This study examines the consequences of the Prison Litigation Reform Act by comparing survey responses of state attorneys general and federal district judges. Respondents from both groups agreed that the act reduced prisoner lawsuits, deterred prisoners from initiating civil-rights litigation, and had led to the termination of judicial orders and consent decrees and the cessation of the use of special masters in supervising judicial remedies. The two groups diverged in their perceptions of whether the act deters federal judges from taking remedial action and whether federal judges faithfully comply with the statute's requirements. These differences may reflect the judiciary's inclination to defend its image, yet the judges did not demonstrate such self-protectiveness when asked whether the act infringed upon judicial authority. This issue may reflect tension between judges' desire to protect their authority and their interest in reducing their prisoner caseloads. Overall, the act appears to be reducing prisoner litigation and limiting judges' authority to order remedies in prisoners' cases.

The American dictionary of criminal justice: key terms and major court cases

The American dictionary of criminal justice: key terms and major court cases

Prison litigation in the USA

Prison litigation in the USA

In Need of Correction: The "Iron Triangle" of the Prison Litigation Reform Act

In Need of Correction: The "Iron Triangle" of the Prison Litigation Reform Act

Toothless in Truth - The Ethereal Rational Basis Test and the Prison Litigation Reform Act's Disparate Restrictions on Attorney's Fees

Toothless in Truth - The Ethereal Rational Basis Test and the Prison Litigation Reform Act's Disparate Restrictions on Attorney's Fees

Toothless in Truth? The Ethereal Rational Basis Test and the Prison Litigation Reform Act's Disparate Restrictions on Attorney's Fees

Toothless in Truth? The Ethereal Rational Basis Test and the Prison Litigation Reform Act's Disparate Restrictions on Attorney's Fees

A Tale of Two Laws: The U.S. Congress Confronts Habeas Corpus Petitions and Section 1983 Lawsuits

Actions by state prisoners have comprised a large and growing body of litigation in the U.S. federal courts over the past thirty years. State prisoners can challenge the validity of their state trial court convictions (habeas corpus petitions) and the constitutionality of the conditions of their confinement to state prisons and jails (Section 1983 lawsuits). Currently, one out of every five civil cases filed in the federal system is brought by a jail or prison inmate. When in the past did these cases begin to arise? What is the present trend? What does the future hold concerning the number of cases likely to be filed? These questions are at the heart of the current research. Care is needed in addressing these queries because it is neither easy nor obvious to know what propels the volume of litigation. Moreover, the future is especially difficult to predict in light of recent legislation adopted by the United States Congress to limit the number of habeas corpus petitions and the number of Section 1983 lawsuits filed each year. The unique contribution of the current research is threefold. First, an improved methodology is used to describe past patterns and to forecast future trends. Simply stated, prisoner litigation is hypothesized to be related to the number of prisoners. As the number of prisoners increases, the volume of litigation increases proportionately. What is not obvious about this relationship is that it has persisted over the past decades despite substantial changes in legal doctrines designed to affect the filing of the litigation. Second, the effects of two major congressional actions passed in 1996 to limit prisoner litigation are examined and assessed for their success in achieving their intended objectives. The first of these, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, which sought to restrict habeas corpus petitions, is judged to have virtually no impact. The second piece of legislation, the Prisoner Litigation Reform Act, which sought to curtail lawsuits against correctional officials, appears to have lowered the volume of litigation in the short-term, but has not disrupted the underlying link between the number of prisoners and the number of lawsuits. Finally, estimates are made of the future volume of litigation and the corresponding number of federal judges needed to resolve prisoner litigation. These estimates have the advantage of being based on significant statistical relationships and accounting for the effects of recent congressional action.

The Political Community Model and Prisoner Litigation: Can We Afford Not to Try a Better Way?

Prisoners file large numbers of civil rights lawsuits, although their success rate is low and recent court rulings have narrowed the scope of judicial intervention. The political community model for an effective, efficient, stable, and flexible community is a valuable tool for understanding inmate litigation. This study examines classification litigation through a national survey of state attorneys. Survey results are analyzed using the political community perspective to gain new insights into why prisoners litigate so often, why they challenge certain issues, and why they continue to litigate after several decades of penal reform.

A Review and Analysis of Prison Litigation Reform Act Court Decisions: Solution or Aggravation?

On April 26, 1996, Congress enacted landmark legislation aimed at curtailing meritless inmate litigation and restricting remedies for prison condition lawsuits. This legislation, the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), is briefly summarized in this article. Five areas of constitutional challenges to the PLRA at the appellate and district court level are reviewed. Eleven legal issues raised by the PLRA are inconsistent decisions among circuit and district courts, particularly in the areas of separation of powers and due process violations.

Emerging trends in correctional civil liability cases: a content analysis of federal court decisions of title 42 united states code section 1983: 1970–1994Publications received

This research analyzes the decisions of correctional civil liability cases litigated under Section 1983 for the years 1970 through 1994. The analysis provides an examination of 3,205 published United States federal court correctional liability cases brought against correctional personnel in penal and local jail facilities. Longitudinal trends, patterns, prevailing parties, common types of lawsuits filed, and damages and attorney fees awarded are discussed based on the content analysis classification scheme. The analysis revealed sixteen major correctional topic areas where prisoner litigation is likely. High liability issues in corrections are addressed and recommendations are presented.

The Least among Us: Unconstitutional Changes in Prisoner Litigation under the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995

The Least among Us: Unconstitutional Changes in Prisoner Litigation under the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Symbolic Statutes and Real Laws: The Pathologies of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act and the Prison Litigation Reform Act

Symbolic Statutes and Real Laws: The Pathologies of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act and the Prison Litigation Reform Act

Closing the Courthouse Door: The Impact of the Prison Litigation Reform Act's Physical Injury Requirement on the Constitutional Rights of Prisoners

Closing the Courthouse Door: The Impact of the Prison Litigation Reform Act's Physical Injury Requirement on the Constitutional Rights of Prisoners

Constitutional Issues in Cross-Gender Searches and Visual Observation of Nude Inmates by Opposite-Sex Officers: A Battle Between and Within the Sexes

Prison litigation concerning the issues of cross-gender searches and visual observation of nude inmates in prisons and jails by opposite-sex officers involves alleged violations of several constitutional rights. Additionally, claims of two competing interest groups, prison employees and inmates, are in conflict. In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court in Turner v. Safley established standards for reviewing alleged violations of inmates' constitutional rights, a ruling that clarified issues somewhat. However, the recent Ninth Circuit case of Jordan v. Gardner (1993) rejected Turner standards and inserted a twist in the direction courts were taking. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 may further complicate the three issues of incidental observation of unclothed inmates by opposite-sex officers, cross-gender routine strip searches/body cavity searches, and cross-gender pat searches/clothed body searches.

Prison Litigation and Bureaucratic Development

Malcolm M. Feeley and Edward Rubin are professors in the School of Law, University of California-Berkeley. This essay stems from the authors' continuing work on the impact of prison and jail conditions litigation which is supported by the Guggenheim Criminal Justice Program at the Center for the Study of Law and Society, University of California, Berkeley. The authors wish to acknowledge the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation for supporting this endeavor.

Prison Litigation and Bureaucratic Development

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Book Review: Prisoner Litigation: The Paradox of the Jalouwe Lawyer

Book Review: Prisoner Litigation: The Paradox of the Jalouwe Lawyer

Criminal Justice Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States: 1990 Term

In the term that concluded in June 1991, the Supreme Court was clearly an institution on the doctrinal move in the field of criminal justice, although the fluidity of the justices' voting alignments betrayed some groping for the rationale for that movement. Both old and recent precedents were abandoned, and the once highly touted bright lines provided by Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961), and Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), were further obscured. In a death penalty decision, Payne v. Tennessee, see below, announced on the last day of the term, Chief Justice Rehnquist gave an unmistakable signal that other criminal justice precedents were hardly to be considered sacrosanct. Because of the increasingly overt influence of the more recently appointed justices, the term represented a discernible lurch in the ongoing shift away from the Warren Court's legacy. Indeed, if the 1990 Term is to be viewed as a barometer, the Supreme Court's impact on criminal justice issues in the decade of the 1990s could rival that of the Warren Court in the 1960s. All of the major Fourth Amendment decisions in the past term produced defeats for the defense, whereas the interrogation cases had mixed results. In the "fair trial" area, yet more ripples were created by the progeny of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986). Although several defendants who had received death sentences obtained relief, the two decisions having the broadest doctrinal implications for capital punishment litigation were clear-cut victories for the government. Finally, the Court announced its most definitive edict to date in support of the judicial hands-off principle in the area of prison litigation. If, as is often heard, Mapp v. Ohio began the criminal justice revolution of the 1960s, the 1990 Term offers the clearest evidence yet that the counterrevolution is flourishing.

Book Review: Prisoner Litigation: The Paradox of the Jailhouse Lawyer

Book Review: Prisoner Litigation: The Paradox of the Jailhouse Lawyer

Prisoner Litigation: The Paradox of the Jailhouse Lawyer.

...a brilliant investigation...Thomas' book not only is an excellent descriptive and interpretive analysis but it will surely provide the basis of further research on JHLs and jailhouse lawyering. It presently stands as the definitive statement on the subject.-CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY