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Law's Nature
Loaded on April 15, 1997
by Mumia Abu-Jamal
published in Prison Legal News
April, 1997, page 6
"Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law." Oliver Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield (1766)
Filed under:
Racial Discrimination,
Commentary/Reviews,
Judiciary.
Location:
United States of America.
For many jailhouse lawyers, especially those new to the craft, there is a sort of "awe" that governs their study, contemplation and utility of the law. Like new converts to a religion they …
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More from this issue:
- US Supreme Court: Florida Gain Time Statute Violates Ex Post Facto, by Paul Wright
- California EFV Injunction Reversed
- California Slashes Family Visits, by Willie Wisely
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Law's Nature, by Mumia Abu-Jamal
- A Matter of Fact
- PLRA Consent Decree Termination Provision Unconstitutional
- Reversal of Frivolous Dismissal Voids PLRA Strike
- PLRA Applied to Attorney Fees
- Prisoners Retain Right to Safety
- Philadelphia Fined for Degrading City Prisons
- Racial Violence in California Lockups, by Willie Wisely
- Florida Private Prison Criticized, by Dan Pens
- Impregnated Arkansas Prisoner Wins Suit
- No Double Jeopardy in Massachusetts Disciplinary Hearings
- Inadequate Jail Staffing Violates Due Process
- Ohio Jail Construction Corruption?
- No Immunity for Eighth Amendment Violation in Rectal Search
- Beating and Strip Cell Require Trial
- Farmer Remanded Again, for Discovery
- Connecticut Supreme Court Upholds Phone and Mail Restrictions
- Drug Sales Boom in Wisconsin Prisons
- Virginia Felons Disenfranchised
- A Native American Resource
- Ex-Sheriff Sex Offender Retains Pension
- FJC Prisoner Litigation Guide
- Louisiana Jail Abuse Settlement
- Texas Lawyers Unhappy About Conscription
- ABA Calls for Halt to Executions
- CBCC Associate Superintendent Resigns
- Copying Claims Not Barred by Res Judicata
- News in Brief
- Double Celling States Eighth Amendment Claim
- Seventh Circuit Analyzes RFRA
More from Mumia Abu-Jamal:
- The Lackawanna County Seven: And Then There Were Five, April 2, 2019
- The Magnificent Seven, July 2, 2018
- Prieto’s Promise: An End to Death Row?, Aug. 10, 2016
- Pollution Prison in Pennsylvania, June 3, 2015
- American “Corrections”, Aug. 15, 2011
- The Habeas Citebook: lneffective Assistance of Counsel, by Brandon Sample, Prison Legal News Publishing, 2010, pp.212 $49.95, Feb. 15, 2011
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander (N.Y., The New Press, 2010). 290 pages., Sept. 15, 2010
- When Courts Get it Wrong: Clark v. Beard, May 15, 2008
- Breaking the Prison Habit, Aug. 15, 2007
- Prison Legal News at 15, July 15, 2005
More from these topics:
- New Commission to Investigate Death and Abuse of 230 Black Children at Segregated Maryland Reformatory, Sept. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Prison Labor, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons.
- Colorado Prison Wardens Participated in Longstanding Racist, Homophobic Group Chat, July 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Gay/Lesbian, Employee Litigation.
- SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, AEDPA, Preservation of Appellate Rights/Issues, Jury Selection, Batson Claims.
- Texas Executes 600th Prisoner Since Reinstating Death Penalty in 1976, June 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability.
- Ombuds Report Doesn’t Rule Out Racism or Retaliation at Red Onion State Prison, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Failure to Treat, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement.
- Federal Judge Upholds Infamously Brutal Farm Labor at Angola Prison, June 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Prison Labor, Exposure to Heat, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- Report Finds Stark Racial Disparities in Wisconsin Prisons, June 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Native American, Statistics/Trends.
- Uncounted COVID Deaths Reveal a Troubling Truth About Official Death Records, May 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Medical Records, COVID-19, Statistics/Trends, Databases.
- Six Years of the First Step Act: Federal Prison Data Reveal Treatment Gains, Persistent Disparities, and Unanswered Questions, April 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Systemic Medical Neglect, First Step Act, Drug Treatment/Rehab, Confinement in Segregated Housing.
- New Jersey Governor’s Order Allows People with Prior Felony Convictions to Serve on Jury Duty, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, State Legislation, Restrictions, discrimination, Jury Selection.

