A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual 12th Edition
LEGAL DISCLAIMER
A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual is written and updated by members of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. The law prohibits us from providing any legal advice to currently incarcerated people. The information is not intended as legal advice or representation nor should you consider it as such. Additionally, your use of the JLM should not be construed as creating an attorney-client relationship with the JLM staff or anyone at Columbia Law School. We have attempted to provide information that is up to date and useful. However, because the law changes frequently, we cannot guarantee that this information is current or correct.
If you are printing chapters of the JLM for use by someone other than yourself, please include the title page and legal disclaimer, which can be accessed in PDF form by clicking on the blue, “Title Page & Legal Disclaimer” link below.
To view PDFs of the 12th Edition of the JLM, please click on the chapter titles in the Table of Contents below.
Foreword by Justice Thurgood Marshall
Section I: Introduction to the JLM and How to Use It
Section II: Learning Your Rights
Chapter 2: Introduction to Legal Research
Chapter 3: Your Right to Learn the Law and Go to Court
Section III: How to File a Lawsuit and Learn About Your Case
Chapter 4: How to Find a Lawyer
Chapter 5: Choosing a Court and a Lawsuit
Chapter 6: An Introduction to Legal Documents
Chapter 7: Freedom of Information
Chapter 8: Obtaining Information to Prepare Your Case: The Process of Discovery
Section IV: How to Attack Your Conviction or Sentence
Chapter 9: Appealing Your Conviction or Sentence
Chapter 10: Applying for Re-Sentencing for Drug Offenses
Chapter 11: Using Post-Conviction DNA testing to Attack Your Conviction or Sentence
Chapter 12: Appealing Your Conviction Based on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Chapter 13: Federal Habeas Corpus
Section V: How to Attack the Conditions of Your Imprisonment
Chapter 14: The Prison Litigation Reform Act
Chapter 15: Inmate Grievance Procedures
Chapter 16: Using 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to Obtain Relief from Violations of Federal Law
Chapter 17: The State’s Duty to Protect You and Your Property: Tort Actions
Chapter 18: Your Rights At Prison Disciplinary Proceedings
Chapter 19: Your Right to Communicate with the Outside World
Section VI: How to Attack Your Conviction, Sentence, or Prison Conditions at the State Level
Chapter 21: State Habeas Corpus: Florida, New York, and Michigan
Section VII: General Health and Safety Rights in Prison
Chapter 23: Your Right to Adequate Medical Care
Chapter 24: Your Right to be Free from Assault by Prison Guards and Other Incarcerated People
Chapter 25: Your Right to be Free from Illegal Body Searches
Chapter 26: Infectious Diseases: AIDS, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis, and MRSA in Prison
Section VIII: Issue-Specific Rights
Chapter 27: Religious Freedom in Prison
Chapter 28: Rights of Incarcerated People with Disabilities
Chapter 29: Special Issues for Incarcerated People with Mental Illness
Chapter 31: Security Classification and Gang Validation
Chapter 33: Rights of Incarcerated Parents
Chapter 34: The Rights of Pretrial Detainees
Chapter 35: Getting Out Early: Conditional and Early Release
Chapter 36: Special Considerations for Sex Offenders
Chapter 37: Rights Upon Release
Chapter 38: Rights of Youth in Prison
Chapter 39: Temporary Release Programs
Chapter 41: Special Issues of Incarcerated Women
Section IX: Appendices
Appendix II: New York State: Filing Instructions & Addresses of New York State Courts
Appendix III: Addresses of New York District Attorneys
Appendix IV: Directory of Legal and Social Services for Incarcerated People