ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the legal services available to jail and prison inmates. The Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that one of the fundamental rights within the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is the right of access to the courts. This applies to inmates as well. Multiple cases regarding inmates’ access to the courts, starting with the Court’s 1941 decision in Ex parte Hull, are analyzed. This chapter also discusses a number of issues related to the use of “jailhouse lawyers,” sanctioned by the court in Johnson v. Avery. Other topics discussed in this chapter include access to legal materials, inmates’ right to communicate with their counsel, and the few court-sanctioned restrictions on access to the courts.
