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Article Inmate Litigation SCHLANGER - BOOKPROOFS. DOC – NOT FINAL PAGINATION 05/22/03 – 3:33 PM VOLUME 116 APRIL 2003 NUMBER 6 ARTICLE INMATE LITIGATION Margo Schlanger TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................1557 I. INMATE LITIGATION TRENDS..........................................................................................1565 A. The Varied Subject Matter of Inmate Litigation .........................................................1570 B. Inmate Litigation Rates..........................................................................................1575 C. Inmate Filing Rates over Time: The “Deluge”...........................................................1578 D. Of Babies and Bath Water: The Processing of Inmate Cases........................................1587 II. OUTCOMES IN INMATE CASES (P RIOR TO THE PLRA).......................................................1590 A. Outcomes: The Data ...............................................................................................1593 B. Outcomes: Explanations..........................................................................................1605 1. Limited Legal Rights/Exacting Decision Standard................................................1605 2. Easy Access to Courts........................................................................................1607 3. The Absence of Counsel....................................................................................1609 4. Obstacles to Settlement......................................................................................1614 (a) The Impact of the Low Quality of the Docket..................................................1614 (b) Asymmetric Information...............................................................................1616 (c) Low Litigation Costs....................................................................................1617 (d) Perceived High External Settlement Costs......................................................1617 (e) Corrections Culture ......................................................................................1620 5. Trial Win Rates..................................................................................................1621 6. Low Damage Awards..........................................................................................1622 C. Conclusion............................................................................................................1626 III. SEA CHANGE: THE PLRA (AND OTHER 1996 CHANGES).................................................1627 A. Exhaustion.............................................................................................................1627 B. Filing Fees.............................................................................................................1628 C. Costs.....................................................................................................................1629 D. Judicial Screening..................................................................................................1629 E. No Obligation To Respond.......................................................................................1630 F. Telephonic Hearings................................................................................................1630 1555 SCHLANGER - BOOKPROOFS. DOC – NOT FINAL PAGINATION 05/22/03 – 3:33 PM 1556 HARVARD LAW REVIEW [Vol. 116:1555 G. Limitation on Damages...........................................................................................1630 H. Diversion of Damages............................................................................................1631 I. Limitation on Attorneys’ Fees....................................................................................1631 J. Coverage................................................................................................................1632 K. Other Legal Changes Concurrent with the PLRA .......................................................1632 IV. LITIGATION EFFECTS OF THEPLRA .............................................................................1633 A. The Shrinking Inmate Docket...................................................................................1634 1. State Court .......................................................................................................1634 2. Habeas.............................................................................................................1637 3. Jail and Prison Filings........................................................................................1641 4. The Impact on Courts of Filing Declines..............................................................1642 B. Plaintiffs’ Declining Success....................................................................................1644 1. The Statute and Its Expected Effects....................................................................1645 (a) Imposition of a Filing Fee, Payable over Time, for All Civil Actions by Inmates.......................................................................................................1645 (b) The Frequent Filer Provisions........................................................................1648 (c) Exhaustion ..................................................................................................1649 (d) Limitations on Attorneys’ Fees......................................................................1654 (e) Coverage.....................................................................................................1657 (f) Summary of Expected Outcome Effects .........................................................1657 2. Observed Trends.................................................................................................1658 V. BROADENING THE FIELD OF VIEW..................................................................................1664 A. Minimizing Litigation’s Burden ................................................................................1668 B. Reducing Liability Exposure: Overdeterrence, Antideterrence, Underdeterrence............1672 1. Overdeterrence.................................................................................................1672 2. Antideterrence ..................................................................................................1677 3. Deterrence/Underdeterrence...............................................................................1680 C. Operational Effects of the PLRA..............................................................................1690 VI. CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................1692 DATA APPENDIX................................................................................................................1698 A. Putting Together the Dataset....................................................................................1698 B. Accuracy of the Data...............................................................................................1699 1. Nature of Suit Codes.........................................................................................1699 2. Subsequent Activity...........................................................................................1700 3. Federal vs. Nonfederal Inmates...........................................................................1700 4. “Judgment for”.................................................................................................1702 5. Damages..........................................................................................................1702 6. Class Actions....................................................................................................1703 C. Grouping Case Categories......................................................................................1704 SCHLANGER - BOOKPROOFS. DOC – NOT FINAL PAGINATION 05/22/03 – 3:33 PM INMATE LITIGATION Margo Schlanger* In 1995, prison and jail inmates brought about 40,000 new lawsuits in federal court — nearly a fifth of the federal civil docket. Court records evidence a success rate for inmate plaintiffs under fifteen percent. These statistics highlight two qualities long associated with the inmate docket: its volume and the low rate of plaintiffs’ success. Then, in 1996, Congress enacted the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), which dramatically altered the litigation landscape, restricting inmates’ access to federal court in a variety of ways. This Article examines inmate litigation before and after the PLRA. Looking first at the litigation process itself, it brings together prior research, the results of new quantitative analysis of a comprehensive database of federal district court cases, and interviews and other qualitative inquiry. The Article canvasses filing trends, subject matter, and settled and litigated outcomes, exploring what is happening in each of these areas and why. Then it uses a variety of analytic tools to uncover and assess the PLRA’s impact. Most obviously, the PLRA has shrunk the number of new federal filings by inmates by over forty percent, notwithstanding a large increase in the affected incarcerated population. Simultaneously, the statute seems to be making even constitutionally meritorious cases harder both to bring and to win. Finally, the Article looks beyond federal courthouses to
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