Are Prison Law Libraries Falling Short On Access Goals? - Law360

Are Prison Law Libraries Falling Short On Access Goals? - Law360:



The U.S. Supreme Court
On Prison Law Libraries

 "We hold, therefore, that the fundamental constitutional right of access to the courts requires prison authorities to assist inmates in the preparation and filing of meaningful legal papers by providing prisoners with adequate law libraries or adequate assistance from persons trained in the law." Bounds v. Smith, 1977.



 "... An inmate cannot establish relevant actual injury simply by establishing that his prison's law library or legal assistance program is sub par in some theoretical sense ... The inmate therefore must go one step further and demonstrate that the alleged shortcomings in the library or legal assistance program hindered his efforts to pursue a legal claim." Lewis v. Casey, 1996.