Prison Litigation and Bureaucratic Development

The Governance of Corrections: Implications of the Changing Interface of Courts and Corrections

Judicial decisions established legal standards for prison conditions and the treatment of prisoners. Prisoners used the litigation process to seek judicial enforcement of these rights-based standards that restricted the autonomy previously enjoyed by correctional officials. Judicial intervention into corrections transformed corrections by pushing all correctional institutions to become professi...

Prison Conditions and Criminal Sentencing in Kansas: A Public Policy Dialogue

Recent theories oflaw and public policy have stressed that judicial, executive and legislative roles can best be understood in relationship to each other. Instead of independently declaring or enforcing rights and rules, judges, administrators and legislators participate in a dialogue, seeking mutual understanding. 1 Effective dialogue, in tum, embodies the democratic process. The evolution of ...

Factors Affecting Complex Litigation

The paper addresses ways in which litigation serves a role in the reform of services for mentally disabled children-and !adults. Effects on deinstitutionalization are emphasized. Benefits of using litigation to secure the rights of mentally retarded persons include public awareness, quality assurance standards for institutions, and the development of new programing strategies. Drawbacks to liti...

Compensatory Damages Are Not for Everyone: Section 1997e(e) of the Prison Litigation Reform Act and the Overlooked Amendment

Bumps in the Road to the Courthouse: The Supreme Court and the Prison Litigation Reform Act t

It seems a little strange that a lawyer who has spent a professional lifetime in correctional law either representing correctional agencies or what might be called the "correctional middle" as a commentator on legal issues in the field, but who has never represented an inmate in a court of law, would be writing about problems lawyers who do represent inmates face in regard to litigating on beha...