NCJ Number
185523
Date Published
January 2000
Length
54 pages
Annotation
This chapter traces the history of litigation and judicial
intervention that has played a catalytic role in altering
correctional policies and practices in America.
Abstract
Judicial decisions have established legal standards for prison
conditions and the treatment of prisoners. Prisoners have used
the litigation process to seek judicial enforcement of these
rights-based standards that restricted the autonomy previously
enjoyed by corrections officials. Judicial intervention into
corrections practices and policies transformed corrections by
pushing all correctional institutions to become professionalized,
bureaucratic organizations with formal procedures and legal
norms. During the 1980's and 1990's, however, the U.S. Supreme
Court and Congress used their authority to force a deceleration
of Federal judges' involvement in correctional management. Court
decisions and legislation narrowed the definitions of prisoners'
rights, required greater judicial deference to correctional
administrators, and limited both prisoners' effective use of
civil rights litigation and Federal judges' remedial authority.
Despite these developments, the standardization of institutional
procedures under the supervision of trained correctional
administrators should preserve the changes initiated by court
decisions. Moreover, the threat of future litigation continues to
protect against the abandonment of correctional standards. The
future interface of courts and corrections depends largely on
developments that affect correctional law and that shape the
environment of corrections. The growth in prison populations and
correctional personnel, the introduction of new technologies, and
the privatization of corrections are likely to produce new issues
that will attract judicial attention throughout the litigation
process. 66 references
Date Published: January 1, 2000