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Jailhouse Lawyering Protected; Frivolous Claims Are Not
Loaded on Nov. 15, 2001
by John E Dannenberg
published in Prison Legal News
November, 2001, page 23
by John E. Dannenberg
Filed under:
Transfers,
Retaliation for Filing Grievances,
Retaliatory Transfers,
Disciplinary Hearings,
Retaliatory Discipline,
Prisoner Legal Assistance,
Res Judicata.
Location:
Tennessee.
The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that a prisoner could not maintain an access to the courts claim based on an action that has been dismissed as frivolous, but the plaintiff can proceed on a legal assistance retaliation claim. In doing so, the …
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More from this issue:
- Washington's Island of Deviant Doctors, by Roger Smith
- Washington DOC Pays $24,697 in PLN Records Suit
- Ex-Prisoner Awarded $2.7 Million on Remand in Medical Neglect Suit
- Leg Amputation Caused by Improper Treatment Defeats Summary Judgment
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Virginia Settles Juvenile Death Suit for $1.2 Million
- Children Strip-Searched While Touring DC Jail
- DC Prison Guards Smuggled Cash, Pagers
- Hawaii Prison Doctors Denied Qualified Immunity
- South Dakota Prison Conditions Class Action Settled
- Blind Ohio Prisoner Spends Months in Strip Cell, by Ronald Young
- Environmental Challenge Bars Construction of California Prison, by Rose Braz
- Mississippi Taxpayers Fund Welfare Payments to Private Prisons, by Ronald Young
- Prisoners Riot in Dartmouth Jail, by Gary Hunter
- Summary Judgment Denied in Oklahoma Jail Beating
- $522,458 Rebate Ordered in California Prisoner Phone Overcharges, by John E Dannenberg
- Notes from the Unrepenitentiary: A Matter of the Past, by Marilyn Buck
- Colombian Rebels Attack Prisons, 140 Prisoners Flee
- California Racial Segregation Case Reversed; Phone Claim Dismissed
- Summary Judgment Granted for Forced Religious Substance Abuse Program
- Cell Search, Property Seizure Suit Set for Trial
- Jailhouse Lawyering Protected; Frivolous Claims Are Not, by John E Dannenberg
- New Trial Ordered in Excessive Use of Force Suit
- California Dials Wrong Number, by Willie Wisely
- Sandin Retroactive, But Not for Qualified Immunity; BOP Ad Seg Rule Creates Liberty Interest
- Plug Pulled in California Prison, by Willie Wisely
- Book Review: Power, Politics, & Crime, by Rick Card
- Junking the Jurors, by Mumia Abu-Jamal
- Alaska Supreme Court Reverses Former Prisoner's $2.4 Million Jury Award
- News in Brief
More from John E Dannenberg:
- California’s “Realignment” Law Sends 38,000 State Prisoners to County Control, Aug. 11, 2016
- Pennsylvania Prisoner Gets $12,500 in Retaliation Suit After Remittitur, Jan. 15, 2010
- Nebraska Muslim Prisoner Wins Religious Concessions, April 15, 2009
- Illegal Strip Searches During Minor Charges Net Sacramento Jail Detainees $1,000 Each, May 15, 2007
- California: Knowing Waiver of Conduct Credits at Plea Agreement Controls Upon Later Probation Violations, May 15, 2007
- Arizona Internet Ban Permanently Enjoined, May 15, 2007
- California: "Mailbox Rule" Extended to Civil Complaints Against Public Entity, May 15, 2007
- California Attorney Richard Dangler Sanctioned for "Shameful, Frivolous" Prisoner Appeals; Resigns, May 15, 2007
- PLN Wins FOIA Suit to Gain Copies of BOP Verdicts and Settlements without Charge, Sept. 15, 2006
- Supreme Court: Banning Publications to Punish Recalcitrant Prisoners Trumps Their First Amendment Rights, Sept. 15, 2006
More from these topics:
- Federal Death Row Prisoners Granted Clemency by Biden Are Facing Retaliation by Trump, Feb. 1, 2026. Transfers, Pardons/Clemency, Death Row, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Confinement in Segregated Housing.
- 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.
- Jailhouse Lawyer Gets 16-1/2-Year Sentence for Defrauding Prisoner “Clients”, Nov. 1, 2025. Prisoner Legal Assistance, Restitution, Forfeiture, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Fraud and Deceit, Conditions of.
- $950,000 Awarded to Trans Maryland Prisoner Dropped on Her Face by Guards, Nov. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Government Misconduct, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Retaliation for Organizing, Retaliatory Segregation, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Discrimination (Transgender), Failure to Protect (Transgender), Immunity - Absolute and Qualified, Damages - Compensatory, Wrongful Use of Force.
- DOJ Finds Unconstitutional Conditions in Texas Juvenile Detention, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Sentencing, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Protect (Juveniles), Juvenile Prisons.
- Ninth Circuit Revives Prisoner’s Claim Based on Guard’s Thwarting of Administrative Remedies, Aug. 1, 2025. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Administrative Exhaustion (PLRA), Grievances.
- Trans BOP Prisoners Win Restraining Order Preventing Transfer to Men’s Prison, Discontinuation of Hormone Therapy Medication, July 15, 2025. Transfers, Transgender, Transgender Medical Procedures.
- Nearly $70,000 Awarded for Illinois Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim, July 15, 2025. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Food, Guard Brutality/Beatings.
- $52,500 for Trans Florida Prisoner Sexually Assaulted by Cellmate, June 1, 2025. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Failure to Protect (Transgender).
- New York Prisoner Awarded Almost $280,000 in Retaliation Claim Against Guards, May 1, 2025. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements.

