ABSTRACT
Jailhouse lawyers, inmates who have taught themselves law and practice it, and jailhouse lawyering are two phenomena little understood, and little researched, although both have been formally recognized in the US since 1969. This chapter examines this phenomenon in an exploratory manner. It focuses on the relationship of the jailhouse lawyer to the legal structure. Jailhouse lawyering in the US probably had its formal start in 1963 with the Supreme Court decision of Gideon v. Wainwright. Gideon appealed via “in forma pauperis” and the US Supreme Court, citing the Fourteenth and Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, overturned the conviction and reaffirmed the right to counsel spelled out in the Sixth Amendment. Gideon was the first jailhouse lawyer to reach notoriety. Socio-historical factors exist for the evolution of prisoner litigation and the rise of jailhouse lawyers. In 1975, in Faretta v. California, the Supreme Court established the right of a pro se defense.
