NCJ Number
80306
Journal
New England Journal on Prison Law Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1981) Pages: 307-340
Date Published
1981
Length
34 pages
Annotation
Constitutional standards for prisoners' access to the courts are reviewed, and alternative policies for ensuring that these standards are met within the constraints of the prison environment are explored.
Abstract
The U.S. Supreme Court, via Johnson v. Avery and Bounds v. Smith, has ruled that prisoners have the right of access to the courts and that the right may be ensured by access to an adequate law library (with qualified assistance) or to a prisoner legal assistance program staffed by professionals trained in the law. An evaluation of available studies and measurement problems associated with determining the nature and extent of prisoners' legal problems concludes that a prisoner legal services program should be prepared to distribute its resources by allocating 40 percent for general civil matters and information only, 30 percent for daily problems within the prison, and 30 percent for prisoners' rights cases. Current legal services systems for prisoners may involve law school clinical programs, the use of 'jailhouse lawyers' as legal counsel, expanding the duties of an existing provider, the use of law libraries, and programs of resident counsel. The optimal structure of a program to provide legal services to prisoners should include the use of paralegals, 'jailhouse lawyers,' and law students. Training of these persons should be supervised and certified by staff attorneys, and guidelines for the functions which each of these categories of persons should perform must be developed and enforced. A relief fund should be established so the board of directors can retain private attorneys for cases which require additional assistance or go beyond the usual scope of the program. An organizational structure for such a program is illustrated. Ninety-two footnotes are listed.