Suchergebnisse

On April 26, 1996, Congress enacted landmark legislation aimed at curtailing meritless inmate litigation and restricting remedies for prison condition lawsuits. This legislation, the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), is briefly summarized in this article. Five areas of constitutional challenges to the PLRA at the appellate and district court level are reviewed. Eleven legal issues raised by the PLRA are inconsistent decisions among circuit and district courts, particularly in the areas of separation of powers and due process violations.

Pregnant inmates represent about 5% of females within the correctional population. Although this is a small portion of the entire inmate population, it is important to adequately address their needs to protect the health of the mother and the fetus. Many states have failed to properly address this issue. However, the states that appear to be the most comprehensive in terms of their treatment of pregnant inmates are California and Pennsylvania. Other states should model their statutes and administrative regulations after these states to effectively address the needs of pregnant inmates.

This article focuses on civil liabilities imposed on prison officials for inmate-by-inmate assault in correctional facilities. After briefly discussing the statistical frequency of inmate-by-inmate assault, the article examines Farmer v. Brennan, a case on inmate-by-inmate assault decided in 1994 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Through an analysis of 96 pre-Farmer cases on inmate assault decided in the U.S. circuit courts of appeals, the article outlines the parameters under which officials might be held liable in post-Farmer litigation. The article concludes that the circumstances and situations under which prison officials are liable will not sufficiently change because the realities of judicial decision making may make it difficult for individual judges to distinguish between pre-Farmer and post-Farmer standards.

The 5-to-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Kelly v. South Carolina represents an important turning point in the death penalty sentencing procedure. Expanding on their prior ruling in Simmons v. South Carolina, the Supreme Court, in Kelly, determined that a defendant is entitled to a jury instruction regarding parole eligibility when the only alternative to a death sentence is life without parole and the implication of future dangerousness is present. In this article, the controversial Kelly decision is examined, and both the majority opinion and the two dissenting opinions are analyzed. The broad as well as the more specific implications and ramifications of this important decision are presented.

The concept of state-created liberty interest has been a part of postconviction jurisprudence for more than 2 decades. When agencies limit their actions through state law, agency rules, or self-imposed regulations, those limitations must be observed; invoking due process where none otherwise constitutionally exists. The article looks at a 1995 United States Supreme Court decision that has had a significant impact on this concept. Sandin v. Conner rejects the "language used" approach to determine whether a state-created liberty interest exists, in favor of the "nature of the deprivation." This article examines the evolution of state-created liberty interest, what the Court said in Sandin v. Conner, how federal courts of appeals have thus far interpreted Sandin, the problems it has created, and the unresolved issues that have yet to be addressed. It concludes that although due process in prisons is far from dead, Sandin has certainly diminished it.