×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Right to Witnesses and Court Access Well Established
Loaded on Oct. 15, 1996
published in Prison Legal News
October, 1996, page 24
A federal district court in Kansas held prisoners had a well established rights in 1984 to call witnesses at disciplinary hearings and to be free from retaliation for exercising their right of access to the courts. Jerry Smith, a Kansas state prisoner, had his briefcase searched prior to a trip …
Filed under:
Retaliation for Litigating,
Disciplinary Hearings,
Retaliatory Discipline,
Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings),
Legal Materials.
Location:
Kansas.
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- UNICOR Hogs Body Armor Market, by Dan Pens
- Prisoners May Be Allowed to Lead Religious Services
- From the Editor, by Dan Pens
- The "Honorable Men" Defense, by Mumia Abu-Jamal
- Plaintiff Entitled to Respond to Qualified Immunity Defense
- Alleged Work Refusal Requires Trial
- Unrest in South American Prisons
- Less than Lethal Force Liability
- Smoke and Mirrors
- A Matter of Fact
- Correction
- Cause of Action Accrues on Disciplinary Reversal
- Prisoner Testimony Must Be Considered in Spears Hearing
- Texas Parole Rules on Litigants and Victim Statements Enjoined
- Extending Release Date Violates Eighth Amendment
- Attorney Fees Awarded for Opposing Motion to Vacate
- Attica: Looking Back 25 Years, by Jaan Laaman
- Jail Guards File Suit
- Fifth Circuit Applies New Standard to Detainee Claims
- MCC Settlement Upheld
- Evidence Required for Disciplinary Sanction, Sandin Questioned
- Pepper Spray Madness, by Lynn Wilson
- Pepper Spray Unsafe?
- Indigents Entitled to Full Credit for Pretrial Detention
- De Novo Review Required of Magistrate's Report
- Texas Shaving Rule Declared Illegal
- Parolee's Jail Rights Discussed
- Missouri Haircut Rule Upheld under RFRA
- No Right to Assistance in Family Law
- Retaliation for Grievance Committee Participation Requires Trial
- PI Granted in Haircut Claim
- Court Responsible for Jury Demand
- Complaint Can't Be Dismissed if Partial Filing Fee Paid
- No FLSA Protection for Work Release Prisoners
- Right to Witnesses and Court Access Well Established
- News in Brief
- Court Okays Disclosure of AIDS Status
More from these topics:
- California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026. Disciplinary Hearings, Due Process, Procedural Default/Error, Evidence - Admissibility, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- Texas Prison System Bans Prisoners from Receiving Hardback and Used Books, July 1, 2026. Reading Materials, Legal Materials, Publications/Books, Banned Book Lists, Censorship.
- Arkansas Board of Corrections Settles Sunshine Law Charges, Caving to Governor’s Power Grab, May 1, 2026. Retaliation for Litigating, State Legislation, Public Records Act, Constitution, state, Community Confinement/Home Detention.
- Alaska Prisoner’s Discipline for Violating Invalidated Rule Tossed, March 1, 2026. Disciplinary Hearings, Access to Media, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Authority and Jurisdiction, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Ninth Circuit Grants Equitable Tolling Under AEDPA Where Attorney Abandoned Prisoner by Failing to Communicate for Nine Months and Prison Officials Delayed Processing Filing Documents, Dec. 15, 2025. Attorney Misconduct, Legal Materials, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Limitations, AEDPA.
- Arkansas “Jailhouse Attorney” Secures Return from Retaliatory Transfer Out of State, Dec. 1, 2025. Out of State Transfers, Retaliation for Litigating, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Religious Practices, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
- Federal Injunction Bars ICE from Crowding Detainees in Unsanitary “Hold” Rooms in New York City Office, Nov. 1, 2025. Diabetes, Failure to Treat, Totality of Conditions, Food, Overcrowding, Plumbing, Sanitation, Bedding, Hygiene Supplies, Prisoner Legal Assistance, Legal Materials, Law Library Access/Adequacy, Summary Judgment, Injunctions, Class Certification, Immigration Detention.
- Sixth Circuit: Michigan Tolling Statute Applies to PLRA Administrative Exhaustion Requirement, July 15, 2025. Retaliation for Litigating, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Tolling of Statutes of Limitations and Laches.
- Ohio Sued by Non-Profit Law Firm for Opening Prisoner Legal Mail, July 15, 2025. Attorney Client, Legal Materials, Attorney Calls, Legal Mail.
- Arkansas DOC Settles Retaliation Claim by Prisoner Who Also Won Back Confiscated COVID-19 Stimulus, June 1, 2025. Retaliation for Organizing, Legal Materials, Legal Mail.

