Chapter 10

The Legal Rightsof Offenders

Legal Rights of Offenders

• Inmate access to courts

• Growth of court intervention in prison administration

• Constitutional bases of inmate rights– 1st, 4th, 8th and 14th amendments

• Inmate lawsuits and their control

Inmate Access to Courts

• 1941 Ex Parte Hull: prisons cannot censor inmate petitions to courts

• No enforcement of decision until 1969• Johnson v. Avery: state can limit but not

ban activities of “jailhouse lawyers”• Slaves of state doctrine (Ruffin v.

Commonwealth, 1871) in VA Supreme Court justified hands-off era

Inmate Lawsuits

• Section 1983 of Civil Rights Act of 1971

• Habeas Corpus: “you have the body”; challenges legality of imprisonment

• Monroe v Pape, 1961: prisoners can bypass state courts if constitutional rights involved

• Bounds v Smith, 1977: legal assistance must be provided to inmates

Limitations on Inmate Lawsuits

• Lewis v. Casey, 1996: law libraries, etc., not required by Bounds– Prisoners must show actual harm to sue– Security concerns can limit access

• O'Sullivan v. Boerckel, 1999: state courts must hear suits before federal courts are accessed

The Demise of the Hands-Off Era

• Holt v. Sarver, 1971: court took over Arkansas Prisons – series of 8th amendment suits followed

• Cruelties of building tenders violated 8th amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment

• Pugh v Locke, 1976: “Totality of Conditions”• Hutto v. Finney, 1978: added two conditions • Each factor creating the conditions must be listed• Steps to correct each must be specified

Ruiz v. Estelle, 1981

• Overcrowding a violation of 8th amendment• Federal court took over Texas system for

almost 12 years• Use of building tenders banned• These cases had little impact on state

spending – funds use and practices changed• Reports of violence increased as building

tenders lost control to CO's

The End of the Hands-On Era

• Bell v. Wolfish, 1979: permitted wide use ofstrip searches and double celling

• Restrictions must serve a legitimate government purpose, cannot be merely punitive

• Rhodes v. Chapman, 1981: 8th amendment violated if:

1) pain was inflicted unnecessarily or wantonly, or

2) was grossly disproportionate to crime

One-Hand On, One-Hand Off Era

• Slaves of State, other “hands-off” era doctrines rejected

• Court micro-management of prisons ceased

• Limited prisoner rights upheld

• State security, budgetary concerns supported

First Amendment Protections

• Freedom of religion, especially beliefs• Freedom of speech, especially

political and legal• Freedom of the press – limited press

access (rights of press, not inmates)• Right to assemble – security issues

virtually eliminate right to assemble, form unions

Inmate Religious Freedoms

• Discrimination based on religion illegal

• Legitimacy of groups judged on basis of:– Sincerity of believers– Age of doctrines– Similarity of other religions– Financial and security costs of practices

Limitations on Religion

1. Threatens security or discipline

2. Interferes with legal powers of discretion

3. Contradicts a reasonable rule

4. Poses an excessive financial burden

These leave religious practices largely in the hands of institutional authorities

Speech

• Libel, conspiracy, threats, obscenity always illegal

• Speech that causes undue alarm can be punished

• Mail restricted and inspected unless addressed to lawyer or court

Turner v. Safley, 1987

(Began as a mail case) A rule is reasonable if:1. It has a valid connection to the government

interests used to justify it;2. Inmates have other means to access the right

in question3. The right significantly impacts staff,

resources or inmates and4. There are no alternative means of achieving

the goals of the rule

Freedom of the Press

• Political statements cannot be censored• Other publications cannot be banned unless

they threaten security, safety• Topics that threaten treatment can be

prohibited• No right to profit from stories of crime • Proceeds usually go to state treasury or

victims' funds

Fourth Amendment Rights

Privacy rights set by balance of:

1) Expectations of privacy in a particular situation or setting

2) Government need to conduct the search

“Reasonable suspicion” required unless search is a universal practice for place or group; punitive use of searches prohibited

Reasonableness of a Search

• Privacy expectations and location of search

• Level of justification(reasonable suspicion vs. probable cause)

• Manner in which search is conducted

• Routine nature of search vs.singling out a specific person– Latter requires reasonable suspicion

Probation andParole Applications

• Greater than prison but restricted expectations still apply

• Written agency policy or condition of liberty can permit routine (warrant less) searches of homes, cars and persons by PO's(Griffiths v. Wisconsin, 1987)

• Police searches of probationers/parolee'sand their homes permitted with reasonable suspicion

Eighth Amendment Rights

Illegal conditions of confinement:1. Shock the conscience of the court or

violate public standards of decency2. Wantonly inflict unnecessary pain

(use of force)3. Are grossly disproportionate to crime4. Demonstrate deliberate apathy to basic

human needs (safety and medical care)

Obligation to Protect

• Detention, custody restrict or remove personal power to protect self

• State and its officials become responsible for safety

• Specific threats to particular persons and general conditions

• Injury must result from neglect to justify a Section 1983 suit

Medical Care

• Estelle v. Gamble, 1976: Suits must show “deliberate indifference” to needs by officials

• Wilson v. Seiter, 1991: Suit must show “culpable state of mind”

• These decisions made it very hard to sue over medical care and health effects of ventilation, and so on

Use of Force

• Officials can apply only the “minimal reasonable force” required to accomplish legitimate goal

• Whitley v Albers, 1986: good faith defense

• Hudson v. Macmillan, 1992: malicious and sadistic acts justify suit even without lasting injury

Fourteenth Amendment Rights

• Suits based on 1st, 4th, and 8th Amendments often use 14th as well

• Two clauses in 14th Amendment:– Due process under law – standard procedures

required to deny liberty– Equal Protection for all regardless of race,

gender, ethnicity, religion

Punishment ofDisciplinary Violations

Due process required:• Written notice of charge(s), evidence• Hearing by impartial person or group• Written justification required if inmate's

request to call witnesses are denied• No right to jury• Right to counsel only for mentally impaired

or those who cannot understand proceedings

Due Process Issues

• Confidential informants can remain unnamed if authorities can demonstrate their trustworthiness

• Minor violations carry less need for due process

• Justifications of process and decisions must be made to courts not inmates

• Classification and transfers not grounds for suits

• State created liberty interests can extend beyond federally enforced rights, tested in state courts

Forcing Medications

• Applies mainly in psychiatric cases

• Authorities must show that:1) The inmate is dangerous to self or others

2) Use of the medication is in inmate's best interests

3) Due process has been followed and case reviewed by experts

Equal Protection under Law

• Group memberships not based on behavior cannot be used to justify differential treatment

• Parity, or substantial equivalence, required for men and women as well as inmates at different security levels

Controlling Inmate Suits

• Retaliation for legal action always illegal

• Access to courts can be limited ONLY by the court itself or the legislature

• Legal costs can be charged to plaintiff if court finds suit to be frivolous

• Courts can impose fees, other conditions on inmates to limit suits

Prison LitigationReform Act of 1996

• Filing fees required for all federal suits

• Limits attorney's fees and damage awards

• Bars suits for psychological harm in absence of physical injuries

• Forces judges to screen suits, block frivolous ones

• Encourages use of video, telephone links