When prisoners want to have their legal claims heard by the courts, access to qualified legal assistance is scant. This shortfall has given birth to the “Jailhouse Lawyer.”
In 1996, the U.S. Congress placed limits on prisoners’ ability to file actions in federal courts by enacting the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). Subsequently, prison reform advocates have criticized the PLRA as too restrictive, because of the stringent requirements to which prisoners must adhere for a court hearing.
Independent reporter and producer Nancy Mullane of National Public Radio (NPR) ventured inside of San Quentin’s library recently to talk with prisoners. She wanted to find out how they navigate their way through our legal system to present their claims in court.
The library was full of about 25 prisoners reading legal books, hunched over computers, or conversing about legal topics. The prisoners were eager to show Mullane their claims and to tell her why they were researching the law.
“The system provides several avenues for prisoners to address anything from a faulty conviction to inadequate medical care, or an arbitrary action by the prison administration. Few prisoners are sufficiently educated in matters of law to effectively redress those complaints in a meaningful way,” said one Jailhouse Lawyer, who didn’t want his name used. “The reason I assist others is because they don’t have access to any help in righting a wrong done to them. Assistance may be something as simple as helping them to determine what form is needed to file a grievance or as complex as formulating a habeas petition that effectively states a cognizable claim and that will allow them a fair opportunity to be heard in court.”
Mullane is the executive producer of “The Life of the Law,” a new NPR radio show that will air her visit to San Quentin’s library in April.
