March 19 2014 Chapter 11 The Legal World Prisoner s Rights The Hands Off Doctrine Historically policy of America courts not to intervene in prison managements Courts tended to follow the doctrine until the late 1960s Based on 2 rationales 1 Separation of powers 2 Judges should leave correctional administration to correctional experts Holt vs Sarver 1970 Prisoners Rights The entire Arkansas prison system was declared unconstitutional Inmates have guarantees of free speech religious practice due process and other private personal rights as well as constitutional protections against cruel unusual punishments Conditional Rights The courts permit some restrictions on the constitutional rights of prisoners Five Ways to Challenge Prison Conditions State the Federal habeas corpus action You have the body State tort lawsuit Federal civil right lawsuit Compensatory or punitive damages Petition for injunctive relief The criminal court system Inmate Grievance Procedures Grievance procedures are formal institutional process for hearing inmate complaints 3 step process receive complaint The U S Supreme Court made formal procedures mandatory in Jones vs North Carolina Prisoners Labor Union 1977 Only about 1 in 12 is successful Balancing Test Pell vs Pecunier 1974 1 established a balancing test to weigh the rights claimed by inmates against the legitimate needs of prison Balancing test weighing the rights claimed by inmates against the legitimate needs of prisons Freedom of Speech Expression Cruz vs Beto 1972 absolute right All visits can be banned if they threaten security prison visits are not an Procurnier vs Martinez 1974 Censoring inmate mail is acceptable only when necessary to protect legitimate government interests Prison officials may not ban mailed nude picture of inmates wives or Upheld a Missouri ban on correspondence among inmates Inmates have to be given a reasonable opportunity to pursue their religions Peppering vs Crist 1981 girlfriends Turner vs Safely 1987 Freedom Of religion Cruz vs Beto 1972 1 Accommodations 2 Diet 3 Facial Hair 4 Clergy 5 Work Schedules 4th Amendments Issues United States vs Hitchcock 1972 An inmate can have no reasonable expectation of privacy in his her prison cell since official surveillance is necessary to meet legitimate security needs of the prison 8th Amendment Issues Cruel unusual punishment In the area of capital punishment cruel unusual punishments are those involving torture a lingering death or unnecessary pain s Medical Care Estelle vs Gamble Prison officials have a duty to provide inmates with medical care Deliberate Indifference intentional willful indifference within the field of correctional practice the term refers to calculated inattention to unconstitutional conditions of confinement Prison Conditions Pugh vs Locke 1976 Battle vs Anderson 1977 The U S Supreme Court held that a totality of conditions standard must be used in evaluating whether prison conditions are cruel unusual Fourteenth Amendment Turner vs Safeley 1987 prison walls do not form a barrier separating prison inmates from the protections of the Constitiution due process protection Johnson vs Avery 1968 Inmates have a right to consult with a jailhouse lawyers when trained legal advisors are available Wolf vs McDonnell 1974 Imposed minimal due process requirements on prison disciplinary proceedings that could lead to solitary confinement or reduction of good time credits End of the Prisoner Rights Era By the late 1980s the prisoner rights era was drawing to a close Frivolous lawsuits with no foundation in fact generally brought for publicity political or other reasons not related to law Prison Litigation Reform Act 1995 Female Inmates and The Courts Barefield vs Leach 1974 Demonstrated that the opportunities programs for female inmates were clearly inferior to those for male inmates Equal Protection Clause