Legal
Legal issues in the correctional system encompass various topics, including inmate rights, staff conduct, and compliance with state and federal laws. This directory offers articles and resources on the legal aspects of correctional facility operations, helping staff stay informed about the regulations and policies that govern their work. Understanding legal responsibilities is essential for minimizing liability and ensuring facilities operate within the law. For more information, explore our section on Corrections Policies.
Learn what a sovereign citizen is, how they use fake license plates, whether they can be arrested and how U.S. courts view their legal defense
Jailed multiple times as a young man, Jelly Roll now works with jails and youth centers, hoping to inspire others through music and second chances
Convicted killer James Osgood says he’s ready to be executed for the 2010 killing of Tracy Lynn Brown and opposes protests in his name
To qualify for the program, inmates have to be nonviolent offenders
The lawsuit contended that despite clear evidence the inmate had alcohol withdrawal, medical personnel failed to follow a written protocol on treatment, which includes hospitalization
He was left paralyzed when his spine was severed in a prison knife fight 10 years ago
The Supreme Court refused to revive a lawsuit challenging a controversial post-Sept. 11 CIA program that flew terrorism suspects to secret prisons
The ruling comes after defense attorney Patrick Frogge discovered recordings of about 300 jail calls to his law firm
Law requires people to prove their citizenship if they’re arrested for serious crimes — ranging from certain drug offenses to murder — while giving police discretion to check citizenship after traffic infractions and other lesser offenses
Project Learn has been a part of the jail for more than 20 years but this the first time inmates are able to take the GED test behind bars
The victim’s mother describes Lance Wright as a changed man and a poster child for prison rehabilitation
Three incarcerated prisoners spoke to high school students about their actions that landed them in prison
Thomas Silverstein killed an officer, Merle Clutts, at the maximum-security prison in Marion, Ill.
Women giving birth in a Florida prison or county jail will not be handcuffed or restrained
Legislators are considering legislation that would impose tougher regulations on the bail bond industry
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit against the Berkley County jail in October
Under the new law Gov. Jerry Brown just signed, up to 30,000 low-level offenders would be transferred over three years from state prisons to local jails
In December, congressional conservatives spearheaded legislation that barred the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States
The measure would require state prison officials to implement measures including a zero-tolerance policy against sexual assaults among other measures
The state is not legally responsible for the actions of parolees, even when it violates its own restrictions on the timing of their release
Lonnie Hyrum Johnson was charged in 2007 in Utah with rape, sodomy and aggravated sexual abuse of a child for alleged acts with his niece and her step-cousin
The former death row inmate argued that former DA showed deliberate indifference
Florence said he should never have been ordered to undergo two strip-searches in seven days
Harley Lapping has led the agency that has jurisdiction over the federal prison system since April 2003
Legislation intended to give Washington corrections officers more safety protections will not reach the senate floor
The Sentencing Project said in a report that treating the two types of the same drug differently is not only a fairness issue but a monetary one
The decision Wednesday overturned a first-degree assault conviction for a man who bit off part of a neighbor’s ear in 2008 in a drunken fight
Education system costs state $65 million a year
Inmate is on death row on a murder conviction after his trial lawyers allegedly made mistakes presenting his case
South Carolina is considering becoming the first state to make it a crime for inmates to update their Facebook status from inside prisons
A judge ruled recently a prison worker can’t sue the state over injuries received during training that include traumatic brain injury and hearing loss
Metropolitan Detention Center officials made over 400 requests to let inmates out of jail early
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- Ala. counties say prison reforms created financial burdens
- Report: Fla. private prison health care in disarray
- Jail diversion program for LA County homeless saved $6,200 per person, study finds
- N.J. promised to free wrongly convicted prisoners, but families say the state is dragging its feet
- Parents of deceased N.M. jail inmates protest for improvements