The Jailhouse Lawyer’s Handbook How to Bring a Federal Lawsuit to Challenge Violations of Your Rights in Prison Published by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the National Lawyers Guild 5th Edition, 2010 NOTE FROM THE EDITORS This Handbook is a resource for prisoners who wish to file a federal lawsuit addressing poor conditions in prison or abuse by prison staff. It also contains limited general information about the American legal system. This Handbook is available for free to anyone: prisoners, families, friends, activists, lawyers and others. We hope that you find this Handbook helpful, and that it provides some aid in protecting your rights behind bars. Know that those of us who do this work from outside prison are humbled by the amazing work so many of you do to protect your rights and dignity while inside. As you work your way through a legal system that is often frustrating and unfair, know that you are not alone in your struggle for justice. Good luck! Rachel Meeropol Ian Head The Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook, 5th Edition. Revised in 2010. Published by: The Center for Constitutional Rights The National Lawyers Guild, National Office 666 Broadway, 7th Floor 132 Nassau Street, Room 922 New York, NY 10012 New York, NY 10038 Available on the internet at: http://jailhouselaw.org We would like to thank: All of the Jailhouse Lawyers who wrote in with comments, recommendations and corrections for the Handbook, all those who have requested and used the Handbook, and who have passed their copy on to others inside prison walls. Special thanks to NLG Jailhouse Lawyer Vice President Mumia Abu-Jamal. The Sylvia Rivera Law Project for co-writing “Issues of Importance to Transgender Prisoners” in Chapter Two, and The ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project for helpful insights regarding “Issues of Importance for Women Prisoners.” The original writers and editors of the Handbook (formerly the NLG Jailhouse Lawyers Manual), Brian Glick, the Prison Law Collective, the Jailhouse Manual Collective and Angus Love. And special thanks to Alissa Hull and John Boston for significant work on the 2010 edition. The dozens of volunteers who have come to the NLG offices every week since 2006 to mail Handbooks to prisoners, and to Claire Dailey, Merry Neisner and all the CCR staff, interns and volunteers who put in hours and hours of research, proofreading, cite-checking, and mailing. Jeff Fogel and Steven Rosenfeld for their work defending the Handbook in Virginia. LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This Handbook was written by CCR staff. The information included in the Handbook is not intended as legal advice or representation, and you should not rely upon it as such. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information nor can we guarantee that all the law and rules inside are current, as the law changes frequently. Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION..................................................................1 A. WHAT IS THIS HANDBOOK? ........................................................................... 1 B. HOW TO USE THIS HANDBOOK ..................................................................... 1 C. WHO CAN USE THIS HANDBOOK .................................................................. 2 1. Prisoners in Every State Can Use this Handbook.............................. 2 2. Prisoners in Federal Prison Can Use this Handbook........................ 2 3. Prisoners in City or County Jails Can Use this Handbook................ 3 4. Prisoners in Private Prisons Can Use this Handbook ....................... 3 D. WHY TO TRY AND GET A LAWYER .............................................................. 4 E. A SHORT HISTORY OF SECTION 1983 AND THE STRUGGLE FOR PRISONERS’ RIGHTS........................................................... 5 F. THE USES AND LIMITS OF LEGAL ACTION................................................. 6 CHAPTER TWO: YOUR LEGAL OPTIONS ...................................................7 A. SECTION 1983 LAWSUITS ................................................................................ 7 1. Violations of Your Federal Rights...................................................... 7 2. “Under Color of State Law”.............................................................. 8 B. STATE COURT CASES ....................................................................................... 9 C. FEDERAL TORTS CLAIMS ACT (FTCA)......................................................... 9 1. Who You Can Sue............................................................................. 10 2. Types of Torts................................................................................... 11 a. NEGLIGENCE ........................................................................................11 b. INTENTIONAL TORTS ............................................................................11 c. FALSE IMPRISONMENT..........................................................................11 d. INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS............................12 3. Administrative Exhaustion ............................................................... 12 4. Damages in FTCA Suits ................................................................... 12 5. The Discretionary Function Exception ............................................ 12 D. BIVENS ACTIONS AND FEDERAL INJUNCTIONS ..................................... 13 1. Who is Acting Under Color of Federal Law? .................................. 13 2. Unconstitutional Acts by Federal Officials ...................................... 14 3. Federal Injunctions .......................................................................... 14 E. PROTECTION OF PRISONERS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW.............. 14 F. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PRISON LITIGATION REFORM ACT (PLRA) .............................................................. 15 1. Injunctive Relief................................................................................ 15 2. Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies ........................................... 15 3. Mental Emotional Injury .................................................................. 16 4. Attorneys’ Fees................................................................................. 16 5. Screening, Dismissal and Waiver of Reply....................................... 16 6. Filing Fees and the Three Strikes Provision .................................... 16 CHAPTER THREE: YOUR RIGHTS IN PRISON.........................................17 A. YOUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND ASSOCIATION, AND THE TURNER TEST........................... 17 1. Access to Reading Materials ............................................................ 18 2. Free Expressions of Political Beliefs ............................................... 20 3. Limits on Censorship of Mail ........................................................... 21 a. OUTGOING MAIL ..................................................................................21 b. INCOMING MAIL ...................................................................................21 c. LEGAL MAIL.........................................................................................22 4. Access to the Telephone ................................................................... 22 5. Your Right to Receive Visits from Family and Friends and to Maintain Relationships in Prison ................................... 23 a. ACCESS TO VISITS ................................................................................23 b. VISITATION FOR LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER PRISONERS ...................................................................24 c. RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER PRISONERS.............................................25 d. CARING FOR YOUR CHILD IN PRISON ...................................................25 B. YOUR RIGHT TO PRACTICE YOUR RELIGION .......................................... 26 1. Free Exercise Clause........................................................................ 26 2. Establishment Clause ....................................................................... 27 3. Fourteenth Amendment Protection of Religion................................ 27 4. Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA)...................... 28 5. Cases and Issues............................................................................... 28 C. YOUR RIGHT TO BE FREE FROM DISCRIMINATION ............................... 29 1. Freedom from Racial Discrimination .............................................. 30 2. Freedom from Gender Discrimination............................................. 31 a. THE “SIMILARLY SITUATED” ARGUMENT..............................................32 b. THE EQUAL PROTECTION TEST FOR GENDER DISCRIMINATION .............32 3. Freedom from Other Forms of Discrimination................................ 33 D. YOUR PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS RIGHTS REGARDING PUNISHMENT ..........................................................................33 1. Two Important Supreme Court Cases Govern Due Process Rights for Prisoners................................. 33 2. Transfers and Segregation ............................................................... 34 E. YOUR RIGHT TO BE FREE FROM UNREASONABLE SEARCHES AND SEIZURES............................................................................ 35 F. YOUR RIGHT TO BE FREE FROM CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT...............................................................................