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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 prisoners. 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.
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The Columbia Human Rights Law Review currently distributes three publications: A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual, the Texas Supplement, and the Immigration and Consular Affairs Supplement. We are only able to respond to inquiries about obtaining copies of our publications. The Columbia Human Rights Law Review is not permitted to provide any legal advice. Please see the above Legal Disclaimer for further clarification about the kind of information we are allowed to provide.
To view PDFs of the 11th Edition of the JLM, please click on the chapter titles in the Table of Contents below.
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
A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual, 11th Ed.
2. Introduction to Legal Research
3. Your Right to Learn the Law and Go to Court
5. Choosing a Court and a Lawsuit: An Overview of the Options
6. An Introduction to Legal Documents
8. Obtaining Information to Prepare Your Case: The Process of Discovery
9. Appealing Your Conviction or Sentence
10. Applying for Re-Sentencing for Drug Offenses
11. Using Post-Conviction DNA Testing to Attack Your Conviction or Sentence
12. Appealing Your Conviction Based on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
14. The Prison Litigation Reform Act
15. Inmate Grievance Procedures
16. Using 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 28 U.S.C. § 1331 to Obtain Relief from Violations of Federal Law
17. The State’s Duty to Protect You and Your Property: Tort Actions
18. Your Rights at Prison Disciplinary Proceedings
19. Your Right to Communicate with the Outside World
21. State Habeas Corpus: Florida, New York, and Michigan
23. Your Right to Adequate Medical Care
24. Your Right to be Free from Assault by Prison Guards and Other Prisoners
25. Your Right to be Free From Illegal Body Searches
26. Infectious Diseases: AIDS, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis, and MRSA in Prisons
27. Religious Freedom in Prison
28. Rights of Prisoners with Disabilities
29. Special Issues for Prisoners with Mental Illness
30. Special Information for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Prisoners
31. Security Classification and Gang Validation
33. Rights of Incarcerated Parents
34. The Rights of Pretrial Detainees
35. Getting Out Early: Conditional and Early Release
36. Special Considerations for Sex Offenders
38. Rights of Juveniles in Prison
39. Temporary Release Programs
41. Special Issues for Women Prisoners