NCJ Number
95053
Date Published
1983
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This overview of the law of prisoners' rights focuses on U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the last decade which have tried to balance individual rights with institutional concerns.
Abstract
Prisoners' rights litigation has been conducted primarily in the Federal courts, usually employing the Federal Habeas Corpus Statute and the Civil Rights Act of 1871 codified as 42 U.S.C. section 1983. While the Court has concluded that basic constitutional rights follow individuals into prison, these rights must still be defined and evaluated in the unique context of the prison environment. Right of access to the courts has been soundly established, as has the prisoner's right to exercise his or her religion as long as it does not interfere unduly with legitimate penological objectives. Prisoner segregation by race constitutes a violation of the equal protection clause. Prisoners possess some freedom-of-speech rights, but courts have recognized that the exercise of such rights must be evaluated and restricted by the environment in which they occur. Prisoners have been accorded limited procedural protections. The Court has not devised a definitive standard to interpret the cruel and unusual punishment clause, but the denial of medical treatment is not a violation of the eighth amendment unless it is a deliberate act of omission rather than inadvertence or negligence. Generally, prisoners are not entitled to the right of privacy. The Court's analysis in Bell v. Wolfish regarding pretrial detainees' rights differs little from that used in cases involving the rights of convicted persons and blurs the distinction between the convicted and the accused. The paper includes 48 footnotes.