A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual

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History and content

Founded in 1978, the twelfth and most recent edition of the JLM was published in 2020. A Spanish-language translation of the fifth edition of the JLM ("SJLM") was produced, but is now out of date; the JLM is working to release an updated SJLM within the next two years. The book also has a section about human rights law. [7]

Supplements

In addition to the main manual, the JLM produces specific supplements for the following states:

The JLM is working to produce supplements for other states as well.

The JLM also publishes an Immigration and Consular Access Supplement in English, and is working towards a Spanish translation. [8]

Cost

Each year, over one thousand copies of the JLM are sent to prisoners, as well as to prisons and jails, libraries, and other organizations that work in the criminal justice field. For prisoners or their families, the cost of the JLM is $30; for institutions, the cost is $150. The JLM order form lists the cost to order the various publications, as well as instructions on how to place an order. A full copy of the JLM, separated by chapter, is available for free viewing on the JLM's website.

Reception

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Thurgood Marshall wrote in a 1992 forward to the JLM that "[b]y making difficult and sensitive legal issues accessible to the lay person, the manual helps to empower prisoners to exercise a right we, as a society, hold dear—the right to speak for oneself. I commend Columbia's law students for publishing so comprehensive and insightful a manual. A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual should be read by everyone involved in, or concerned about, prisoners' rights." [9]

The Jailhouse Lawyer's Handbook

The Jailhouse Lawyer's Handbook: How to Bring a Federal Lawsuit to Challenge Violations of Your Rights in Prison, an unrelated publication compiled by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the National Lawyers Guild, [10] provides resources to prisoners intending to file federal lawsuits against prisons. [11] The 6th edition (2021) addresses resources for LGBTQ+ prisoners and the Prison Rape Elimination Act. [12]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penal labor in the United States</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solitary confinement in the United States</span> Form of strict imprisonment in the United States

In the United States penal system, upwards of 20 percent of state and federal prison inmates and 18 percent of local jail inmates are kept in solitary confinement or another form of restrictive housing at some point during their imprisonment. Solitary confinement (sometimes euphemistically called protective custody, punitive segregation (PSEG) or room restriction) generally comes in one of two forms: "disciplinary segregation," in which inmates are temporarily placed in solitary confinement as punishment for rule-breaking; and "administrative segregation," in which prisoners deemed to be a risk to the safety of other inmates, prison staff, or to themselves are placed in solitary confinement for extended periods of time, often months or years.

Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that campaigns on behalf of prisoner rights across the United States. The organization advocates for the rights of people in "state and federal prisons, local jails, immigration detention centers, civil commitment facilities, Bureau of Indian Affairs jails, juvenile facilities and military prisons." Some of the major focuses of the HRDC include work on free speech issues, government transparency and accountability, as well as opposition to the private prison industry.

References

  1. ↑ "Current Staff & Board". March 31, 2016.
  2. ↑ Prisoners' Self-help Litigation Manual . Oceana; 2010. ISBN   978-0-19-537440-7. p. 1–.
  3. ↑ Social Work Practice and the Law . Springer Publishing Company; 17 October 2011. ISBN   978-0-8261-1766-3. p. 270–.
  4. ↑ The Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa . Institute of Foreign and Comparative Law, University of South Africa.; 1982. p. 161.
  5. ↑ Austin Sarat. Merciful Judgments and Contemporary Society: Legal Problems, Legal Possibilities . Cambridge University Press; 31 October 2011. ISBN   978-1-139-50483-6. p. 40–.
  6. ↑ A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual . Columbia Human Rights Law Review; 2017. ch. 1 p. 1.
  7. ↑ Ira P. Robbins. Prisoners and the Law . Vol. 1. Clark Boardman Company; 1985. ISBN   978-0-87632-478-3.
  8. ↑ "Immigration & Consular Access Supplement". A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual. March 31, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Columbia Law School Journal Day Handbook". April 13, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  10. ↑ "The Jailhouse Lawyer's Handbook: How to Bring a Federal Lawsuit to Challenge Violations of Your Rights in Prison, 4th Edition" (PDF). 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 2, 2023.
  11. ↑ "The Jailhouse Lawyer's Handbook: How to Bring a Federal Lawsuit to Challenge Violations of Your Rights in Prison, 5th Edition" (PDF). 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 19, 2023.
  12. ↑ "The Jailhouse Lawyer's Handbook: How to Bring a Federal Lawsuit to Challenge Violations of Your Rights in Prison" (PDF). The Center for Constitutional Rights. 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 22, 2023.
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