Chapter 13
Prison Life
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Prisoner Rights:
Legal Basis of Prisoners’ Rights
Pell v. Procunier (1974)
U.S. Supreme Court established
“balancing test”
balancing test - attempts to weigh
rights of individual against the authority
of the states to make laws or otherwise
restrict a person’s freedom in order to
protect its interests and its citizens
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Prisoner Rights
Religious Freedom
Cruz v. Beto (1972)
• This case established that prisoners must
be given a “reasonable opportunity” to
pursue their faith, even if it differs from
traditional forms of worship.
• Meeting facilities must be provided for
religious purposes when those same
facilities are made available to other
groups of prisoners for other purposes.
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Prisoner Rights
Smith v. Coughlin (1984)
Court held that prisoners in
segregation do not have to
be permitted the
opportunity to attend
religious services.
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Prisoner Rights
Dettmer v. Landon (1985)
Federal court held that a
prisoner who claimed to
practice witchcraft must
be provided with the
artifacts necessary
for his worship.
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Prisoner Rights
Hill v. Blackwell (1985)
Prison regulations prohibiting
the wearing of beards, even
those grown for
religious purposes,
were held acceptable
for security
considerations.
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Prisoner Rights
Prisoners also have the right to:
1.attend services of other religious
groups
2.receive visits from ministers
3.correspond with religious leaders
4.observe religious dietary laws
5.wear religious insignia
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Prisoner Rights
Freedom of Speech – contact with the media
Pell v. Procunier (1974)
Supreme Court held that media
interviews could be conducted
through regular visitation
arrangements or through
correspondence, but denied
prisoners opportunity to hold
special meetings with members
of the press.
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Prisoner Rights
Houchins v. KQED, Inc. (1978)
News personnel cannot be denied
correspondence with prisoners,
but they have no constitutional
right to interview prisoners or to
inspect correctional facilities
beyond the visitation
opportunities available to others.
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Prisoner Rights
Mallery v. Lewis (1983)
Magazines which depict
deviant sexual behavior can be
banned, however, prisons
cannot ban nude pictures of
inmates’ wives and girlfriends.
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Prisoner Rights
Freedom of Speech – right to
communicate with non-prisoners
Procunier v. Martinez (1974)
Prisoner’s mail may be
censored if it is necessary
to do so for security
purposes.
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Prisoner Rights
Freedom of Speech – right to
communicate with non-prisoners
McNamara v. Moody (1979)
Court upheld right of prisoner to
write vulgar letters to his
girlfriend, in which he made
disparaging remarks about prison
staff.
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Prisoner Rights
Legal Assistance
– right to access the courts
Bounds v. Smith (1977)
Right of prisoners to petition the
court was recognized. It is the duty of
the state to assist prisoners
in preparation and filing of
legal papers.
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Prisoner Rights
Legal Assistance
– right to access the courts
Lewis v. Casey (1996)
• Court overturned part of Bounds v. Smith
(1977).
• Prisoners are not guaranteed the
“wherewithal to file any and every type of
legal claim.”
• States are required to provide tools to
prisoners so they can attack their
sentences and conditions of confinement.
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Prisoner Rights
Legal Assistance
Prisoners also have the right to:
• visits from attorneys
• mail communications with attorneys
• communicate with legal
assistance organizations
• consult with “jail-house
lawyers”
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Prisoner Rights
Medical Treatment
– sanitary and healthy conditions
Ruiz v. Estelle (1982)
• Court found Dept. of Corrections
lacking in its medical
treatment programs.
• Court monitored Dept. of
Corrections while it improved:
a) record keeping
b) physical facilities
c) general medical care
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Prisoner Rights
Medical Treatment
– sanitary and healthy conditions
Newman v. Alabama (1972)
• prison medical services
inadequate
• not enough medical personnel
• poor physical facilities
• poor medical records
• lack of medical supplies
• medically untrained personnel
who determined need for
treatment
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Prisoner Rights
Medical Treatment – right to
medical attention for serious problems
Estelle v. Gamble (1976)
• Court concerned itself with “deliberate
indifference” on part of staff toward
prisoner’s need for serious medical
attention.
• Court specified prison officials’ duty to
provide for inmates’ medical care.
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Prisoner Rights
Right to Protection
Prisoners have the right to:
• food, water, and shelter
A.protection from foreseeable
attack
B.protection from predictable
sexual attack
C.protection against suicide
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Prisoner Rights
Right to Privacy
Most of the major Supreme Court cases have
held that prisoners cannot have a reasonable
expectation to privacy when incarcerated.
Examples:
•
•
•
•
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Katz v. U.S. (1967)
U.S. v. Ready (1978)
Hudson v. Palmer (1984)
Block v. Rutherford (1984)
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Prisoner Rights
Hudson v. Palmer (1984)
• Palmer was a prisoner, Hudson was a
correctional officer.
• Palmer claimed Hudson had destroyed some of
his property following a cell search.
• Palmer’s complaint centered on lack of due
process which accompanied the destruction.
• Court ruled that prison officials need to be able
to conduct thorough, unannounced searches,
and that these searches preclude prisoner
privacy in personal possessions.
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Prisoner Rights
• partial return to “hands off doctrine”
• established grievance procedure
• Prison Litigation Reform Act (1996)
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Prisons Today
Issues
• Aids
• geriatric offenders
• mentally ill inmates
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