NCJ Number
99291
Journal
Detroit College of Law Review Volume: 1985 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1985) Pages: 111-123
Date Published
1985
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Following a discourse on the brief history of pretrial detention rights, this paper examines the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Block v. Rutherford, which held that pretrial detainees need not be allowed contact visits or the right to observe cell searches.
Abstract
Lower courts have consistently emphasized that the conditions and restrictions of pretrial detention may not be punitive. In Bell v. Wolfish (1979), the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that 'absent a showing of expressed intent to punish on the part of detention facility officials,' the determination of whether a practice is punitive will depend on whether it is reasonably related to facility security interests. In Block v. Rutherford, the Court reaffirmed its intention to accord great deference to prison administrators regarding challenges to pretrial conditions and restrictions of confinement. In permitting the restriction of no contact visits for pretrial detainees and not allowing detainees to observe the search of their< possessions, the Court has made it clear there is virtually no likelihood it will find expressed punitive intent in pretrial detention practices. Thus, pretrial detainees should be able to obtain only the relief previously awarded convicted prisoners. Eighty-five footnotes are provided.