representing prisoners

The Constitution

eighth amendment

• Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Eighth amendment covers:

• Access to medical care
• Access to mental health care
• Protection from assault and abuse

Estell v. Gambell
429 U.S. 97 (1976)

Hudson v. McMillian, 503 U.S. 1 (1992)

Helling v. McKinney, 509 U.S. 25 (1993)

Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994)

Fourteenth amendment

• Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 135 S. Ct. 2466 (2015)
• Objectively Unreasonable
• Pretrial

ADA / REHABILITATION ACT

Person with a disability:

• physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities;
• a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment.
• or being regarded as having such an impairment.

Person with a disability:

• physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities;
• a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment.
• or being regarded as having such an impairment.

Both cover:

• Exclusion from a program or service
• Failure to make reasonable accommodations
• Failure to provide “effective communication”

ADA

• State and local governments
• Contractors
• Public Accomodations

Rehabilition act

• Federal government
• Org that receives federal financial assistance
• Contracts don't count
• Rivers?

Deaf issues

• Effective Communication
• No balancing tests
• ASL is not English
• Primary consideration to individual preference
• Video Phones

isolation and segregation

Rape, sexual assault, and prea

Rape, sexual assault, and prea

• PREA (2003)
• PREA regulations (2012)
• No cause of action

Jones v. DC

First Amendment

Mail

• Incoming: only need "legitimate penological justification."
• Outgoing: “no greater than is necessary or essential” to protect an “important or substantial” reason.

visitation

Religion is an exception:

• Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA),
• Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA)
• No substantial burden without a compelling governmental interest and the least restrictive means

qualified Immunity

Good Faith Immunity

• Established law - what is it?
• Reasonableness

immediate appeal?

• Not necessarily!

FTCA, Bivens, 1983

privitization

privitization

• 1983 v Bivens
• Corr. Servs. Corp. v. Malesko, 534 U.S. 61 (2001).
• Minneci v. Pollard, 132 S. Ct. 617 (2012)

privitization

• ADA / Rehabilitation Act
• RFRA / RLUIPA

plra

The PLRA

• Physical Injury
• Exhaustion
• Three Strikes

The PLRA

• Sexual Assault - timeline

dgolden@hrdc-law.org

@DebGoldenDC