Prisoner's Rights Attorneys

Strip searches are a routine part of prison life, but this does not mean they are always necessary or justified. Female inmates are often subjected to strip searches by male corrections officers, which may in itself be sufficient grounds for a lawsuit. Another potential ground for a civil lawsuit is when strip searches (of either male or female prisoners) are conducted by multiple guards at the same time. Read the rest of this entry »

Statutes and guidelines for performing legal strip searches and body cavity searches. Also, what constitutes an illegal strip search or body cavity search by police in New Jersey. Read the rest of this entry »

Malicious prosecution occurs when a prosecutor pursues a case without "probable cause." Probable cause is a reasonable belief that you were the individual who committed the offense. It's not enough for the district attorney to have a hunch; there has to be evidence, either real or circumstantial, in order to prosecute a case. Malicious prosecution may also have occurred if a prosecutor broke the law (prosecutor misconduct), or knew of laws broken, in order to build a false case against someone. Read the rest of this entry »

Corrections officers have broad leeway to maintain order in prisons and jails, but this does not give them the right to beat or otherwise abuse inmates. All prisons and jails have procedures, standards, and protocols guards and prison staff are supposed to follow. Prison practices are not allowed to violate prisoner's civil rights protected by the United States Constitution, federal or state law, or The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PRLA), passed by Congress in 1996.

If a guard takes a particular dislike to certain prisoners and singles them out for excessive discipline or unfair treatment it may be in violation or prisoner's rights. For example, guards are not permitted to treat prisoners badly or differently because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.

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Prisoners, just like civilians, have certain civil rights that protect them against harassment and harm based on discriminatory practices. Read the rest of this entry »

Prison life is stressful and populated by both nonviolent and violent offenders, and, no matter how well run a prison or jail is, many violent acts are committed against inmates including acts of police or correction officer abuse and brutality, illegal strip searches, rape, and assault. But you might be surprised to learn that the leading cause of death in the penal system is prisoner suicide.

According to some statistical studies, the murder rate in prison is significantly less than that of some big American cities, only amounting to two or three out of 100,000 prisoners every year.

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The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA ), passed by Congress in 1996, seemingly drastically restricts the rights of prisoners and inmates to pursue grievances in federal courts. Ostensibly designed to intimidate prisoners—and to ease the financial burden on the U.S. court system from inmate lawsuits—the PRLA actually doesn't impose many more burdens on inmates than the court system as a whole does on non-prisoner plaintiffs. Read the rest of this entry »