BJOC 1.5 - Inmate Rights

Terminal Performance Objective (TPO):

BJOC 1.5 - Inmate Rights

Enabling Objective (EOs):

As a result of this instruction, the student will be able to:

1.5.1        List the Constitutional Amendments which are relevant to jail operations and

administration and define the protection of the amendments provided.

1.5.2        Describe the role the courts play in defining the Constitutional Rights of inmates.

1.5.3        Describe limitations which the courts, under the First Amendment, have placed on control of inmate mail, visitation, publications, telephone access, personal appearance, media access, inmate unions, and exercise of religious beliefs.

1.5.4        Identify privileged communications and the appropriate procedure for dealing with it.

1.5.5        Describe obligations which the courts, under the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause of the Eighth Amendment, have imposed on jail officers.

1.5.6        Describe circumstances under which jail officers may search inmates, and what they may search for.

1.5.7        Describe the extent to which the courts have, under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, held that inmates are allowed access to the courts, and describe the obligations imposed upon jail personnel by the courts to assist inmates in being able to assert their legal rights.

1.5.8        Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of each of the Amendments on jail operations.

1.5.9        Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of Title 42 USC 1983 on jail operations.

1.5.10    Identify levels of chargeable offenses and legal penalties for non-adherence that can be imposed as a result of disciplinary procedures.

1.5.11    Identify the steps involved in the disciplinary procedure.

1.5.12    Describe instances in which an inmate might qualify for administrative segregation.

1.5.13    Given several hypothetical situations involving rule infractions, identify the proper procedure for handling each situation.

Identify the steps involved in the grievance procedure.

List the Constitutional Amendments covered during this block of instruction.

a.      1^st  Amendment (Religion) - “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

4^th Amendment.

The U.S. Supreme Court has the ultimate responsibility for settling disputes and interpreting the meaning of laws. 

The role of the Supreme Court to examine the actions of local, state, and national governments and to rule on the constitutionality of any disputed actions by those political bodies is known as __________________.

The role of the Supreme Court to examine the actions of local, state, and national governments and to rule on the constitutionality of any disputed actions by those political bodies is known as Judicial Review.

What are the three characteristics against which a belief system may be measured to determine if it is, in fact, considered a religion?

·        It must address fundamental and ultimate questions of deep and imponderable matters,

·        It must be comprehensive in nature and consist of a belief system as opposed to an isolate teaching, and,

·        It must be recognizable by certain formal and external signs. 

Africa v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1981)

Detention staff may not refuse to deliver it unless its contents clearly threaten the security of the institution (plans of escape, future criminal activity, coded message, etc.)

Communication between an inmate and his or her lawyer is privileged, as the communication between any citizen and his or her lawyer.  Privileged communication is spoken or written communication that must be conducted in secret and can not be divulged.  The jail has a duty to insure the privacy of written and spoken communication between inmates and their attorneys.

Incoming mail from attorneys can be opened and inspected for contraband, but only in the inmate’s presence, and may not be read by jail personnel.

The establishment of a time-frame as the condition of the inmate’s release from restraints, as opposed to the release being conditioned upon the inmate’s behavior, implies that the action is _________instead of __________.

The establishment of a time-frame as the condition of the inmate’s release from restraints, as opposed to the release being conditioned upon the inmate’s behavior, implies that the action is punitive instead of corrective.

 •          in self-defense and/or the defense of others;

•           to prevent a crime, including escape;

•           to maintain order and security; or,

•           to quell a disturbance.

As a general rule, there is no legitimate expectation of privacy in an inmate's papers and property in a cell. (Hudson v. Palmer, 1984).

Body Cavity Search Including a Probe.

Officers conducting cell searches must treat inmates’ legal material with more care than they would treat other inmate possessions.  However, legal materials can be searched for contraband.

It does not constitute double jeopardy for an inmate to be disciplined by jail administration and prosecuted in court for the same offense.

Due Process – 5^th Amendment

1^st Amendment – Freedom of Religion.

For example, the Constitution grants the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, but it is the U.S. Code that grants the right to sue government officials for committing that constitutional violation (42 USC § 1983).  The rights secured by the Constitution or the U.S. Code are applicable across the country.

In order for a Constitutional violation to be actionable under 42 USC § 1983, the government official must have acted under ______________.

In order for a Constitutional violation to be actionable under 42 USC § 1983, the government official must have acted under Color of Law.

Although the number of categories varies, the usual standard is three.

a.         The lowest level of infraction should include violations that are minor and carry very minor sanctions.  Penalties may include verbal warnings, loss of visitation, commissary, or other privileges.

b.         The next level should include more serious violations which may carry significant sanctions.  Presumably, this category would contain the majority of listed infractions.  Penalties may include all of the previously mentioned sanctions and segregation.

c.         The highest level of infraction should be reserved for the most serious charges – those that have a serious impact on safety and security or are violations of the law.  Penalties may include all previously mentioned sanctions, as well as loss of earned-time credit and restitution.

What penalties may be imposed as a result of inmate disciplinary action?

a) Lowest Level - Penalties may include verbal warnings, loss of visitation, commissary, or other privileges.

b) Next Level - Penalties may include all of the previously mentioned sanctions and segregation.

c) Highest Level - Penalties may include all previously mentioned sanctions, as well as loss of earned-time credit and restitution

The Court established that inmates were under the protection of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, requiring that certain due process steps were required to be a part of the disciplinary process. 

What steps are required to satisfy full due process regarding inmate discipline?

 (1)      Written notice of the charges against the inmate, given at least 24 hours prior to the disciplinary hearing.

(2)       A disciplinary hearing presided over by a neutral official.

(3)       Allowing the inmate to call witnesses (within limits) and to present documentary evidence.

(4)       Assisting inmates who can not prepare their own defense.

(5)       If the inmate is found guilty, a written statement from the fact finder noting the evidence relied on and the reasons for the disciplinary action.

If the reason for the segregation is for protection, the segregation is administrative and does not require due process.  The agency may be protecting staff, inmates, the maintenance of good order, or even the integrity of an ongoing investigation.  If the reason behind the segregation is punishment, as in the result of disciplinary action, then due process may be required.

The agency may be protecting staff, inmates, the maintenance of good order, or even the integrity of an ongoing investigation.

No. The due process standard was later re-defined in the case Sandin v. Conner (1995).  Prior to Sandin, the courts determined if there was a “state created liberty interest” strictly by the language of state statutes or agency policies, without regard to the actual or potential loss experienced by the inmate in the wake of a disciplinary action.  This caused the courts to become deeply involved in the wording of jail policies – an area they would rather stay out of.  Sandin changed that for the Court adopted a new standard of determining if there was a liberty interest.  Now a liberty interest is said to have been created if the disciplinary punishment imposes “atypical and significant hardship on the inmate in relation to the ordinary incidents of prison life.”  This is generally accepted to mean a change in release date or segregation for unusually long periods of time. 

The Fourteenth Amendment has two major effects on jail practitioners.  The first is that this amendment includes a “due process” clause that is applicable to States.  By doing this, there is now no question that due process is required for all arrested persons, both pre-trial and sentenced.    Due Process does not mean immunity from punishment for rule infractions.

Most grievances are initiated by the inmate filling out a form. 

Even if the grievance is not accepted, the inmate should receive a ________________. 

Even if the grievance is not accepted, the inmate should receive a written notice. 

When facing a lawsuit, if the officer was acting in accordance with his/her understanding of the law and agency policy, then the officer may use the “_____________” defense.

When facing a lawsuit, if the officer was acting in accordance with his/her understanding of the law and agency policy, then the officer may use the “Good Faith” defense.