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The Political Economy of Prison and Jail Litigation
Loaded on June 15, 2007
by Margo Schlanger
published in Prison Legal News
June, 2007, page 1
by Margo Schlanger*
Filed under:
PLRA,
Consent Decrees (PLRA),
Judiciary,
Damages,
Settlements,
Injunctions,
Consent Decrees.
Location:
United States of America.
This article explores the practical effects of the prisoner civil rights docket on conditions of incarceration for the 2.2 million people in American jails and prisons on any given day.1 The analysis takes on a great deal more importance than it ideally would because detention facility litigation …
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More from this issue:
- The Political Economy of Prison and Jail Litigation, by Margo Schlanger
- Florida’s Broward County Jail: Abuse and Misconduct As Usual, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Suicides Plague Wisconsin Jails; Attempted Suicide Suit Settles for $13.1 Million, by Matthew Clarke
- Dr. Yank: Washington Prison Dentist Nearly Kills Patient
- Landmark Settlement Reduces SHU Time, Increases Treatment Of New York Prisoners With Mental Illness
- Maryland Restores Voting Rights to 50,000 Felons
- Missouri Legislature Allows Wrongfully Convicted to Receive Compensation
- Supreme Court: California’s Law Permitting Suspicionless Police Search of Parolees Does Not Violate Fourth Amendment, by Marvin Mentor
- Increasingly Repressive Sex Offender Residency Restrictions Have Doubtful Benefits, by John Dannenberg
- Phoenix, Arizona Sheriff’s Policy Delaying Prisoners’ Elective Abortions Enjoined, by John Dannenberg
- Alaska Jail Settles Alcohol Withdrawal Death Case For $573,000
- Colorado Successfully Pressures FBI To Release DNA Info; Racial Bias Infects DNA Databases, by Gary Hunter
- Guards Convicted of Stealing, Bringing Drugs into Washington State Private Jail, by Matthew Clarke
- Disallowing Printed E-Mail Responses To Wisconsin Prisoner’s Web Page Raised Triable Issues of Fact, by John Dannenberg
- BOP Cancels Solicitation of Proposal for Single-Faith Program
- Lifetime Supervision or Lifetime Incarceration for Colorado Sex Offenders?
- Louisiana Prisoner Denied Religious Materials Under “Approved Vendor” Policy Settles Suit for $21, 786.13 in Damages and Fees
- Study: Supermax Prisons Achieve Control While Inflicting Debilitating Side Effects, But Don’t Reduce Recidivism, by John Dannenberg
- California Sheriff Criticized on Injury Non-Treatment After Use of Force
- South Carolina Prisoner Awarded $4,000 For Fall, Broken Ankle
- Human Rights Watch Urges Access to Condoms in U.S. Prisons and Jails
- Private Prison Companies Bilk Florida Taxpayers Out of Millions, by David Reutter
- $30,000 Award in Hawaii Medical Negligence Suit
- Los Angeles County Jail Visitor’s Injury After Scuffle With Deputies Settles For $150,000
- Florida Court Without Jurisdiction to Impose Confinement Condition Sanctions at Sentencing
- City of Detroit Must Record Suspect Confessions; $4 Million Wrongful Incarceration Award
- Excessive Force And Medical Negligence Death In Youngstown, Ohio Arrest Settles For $350,000 From Police, $100,000 From PHS, by John Dannenberg
- U.S. Supreme Court: State Felon’s Deportation Order Reversed Where Underlying Offense Amounted Only to Federal Misdemeanor
- $248,000 Jury Award for Inhumane D.C. Jail Conditions
- Fifth Circuit Remands Texas Prisoner’s Retaliation Claim, Adopts De Minimis Standard, by Michael Rigby
- Harsh Federal Parole Conditions for Federal Sex Offender Upheld
- California Prison Guards Awarded $440 Million Retroactive Pay Increase
- Second Hawaii Sex Assault Case Settled for $25,000
- $2.5 Million Settlement in Schenectady County Strip Search Suit
- California Governor’s Parole Veto Reversed by Federal Court, by John Dannenberg
- New York Jail’s Juvenile Education Suit Returns to District Court
- Ninth Circuit: Prisoner is Protected by Legal Privilege but Not Marriage Privilege When Writing His Lawyer-Wife
- Federal Prisoner’s Criminal Assault Conviction Reversed; Entitled to Raise Self-Defense
- Washington Indigents All Get Experts at Public Expense
- New York Prisoner Beaten By Unofficial Enforcer Awarded $500,000
- News in Brief:
- Alaska DOC Liable for Rape of Federal Prisoner by Prison Doctor
More from Margo Schlanger:
- Narrowing the Remedial Gap: Damages for Disability Discrimination in Outsourced Federal Programs, May 1, 2021
- Trends in Prisoner Litigation, as the PLRA Enters Adulthood, Sept. 28, 2015
- Preserving the Rule of Law in America’s Jails and Prisons: The Case for Amending the Prison Litigation Reform Act, July 15, 2009
- Operationalizing Deterrence: Claims Management (In Hospitals, a Large Retailer, and Jails and Prisons), April 15, 2009
- BEYOND THE HERO JUDGE: INSTITUTIONAL REFORM LITIGATION AS LITIGATION, April 15, 2009
- National Prison Reform Commission Begins Work, April 15, 2009
- Jail Strip-Search Cases: Patterns and Participants, April 15, 2009
- The Political Economy of Prison and Jail Litigation, June 15, 2007
- National Prison Reform Commission Started, Aug. 15, 2005
More from these topics:
- SCOTUS Continues to Hack Away At First Step Act, July 1, 2026. Conditions of Confinement, PLRA, Post-release, ex-offender, re-entry, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Compassionate Release.
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026. Conditions of Confinement, PLRA, Prisoner Privileges, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Telephones.
- Fifth Circuit Kills Louisiana Prison Medical and Mental Health Care Reform, July 1, 2026. Medical, Conditions of Confinement, PLRA, Immunity/Liability, Mental Health.
- HRDC Wins Injunction to Halt New Mexico Prison Censorship, July 1, 2026. Injunctions, Publications/Books, Censorship, First Amendment, rights, HRDC Litigation.
- Environmental Groups Say the Fight to Shut Down “Alligator Alcatraz” Isn’t Over, July 1, 2026. Environmental Law, Injunctions, National Environmental Policy Act, Immigration Detention.
- Colorado Ordered to Stop Tossing Prisoners in Solitary for Refusing to Work, July 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Injunctions, Good Time, Constitution, state, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Arizona Lawmakers Refuse to Fully Fund Prison Healthcare Staffing Ordered by Federal Court, July 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Injunctions, Contempt (Civil Procedure).
- $112,500 Paid to Former New Mexico Prisoner Denied Public Records of Excessive Force by Guards, June 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Public Records Act, False Imprisonment.
- Settlement Reached in Mental Health Care Class-Action at San Diego County Jails, June 1, 2026. Settlements, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Class Actions, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- Federal Court Partially Enjoins Enforcement of Georgia’s S.B. 185 Prohibiting Gender-Affirming Health Care in DOC, June 1, 2026. Medication, Failure to Treat, Injunctions, Transgender Medical Procedures, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.

