Prisoners' Rights
Jensen v. Thornell
UPDATE: In a thorough and sweeping injunction issued on April 7, 2023, U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver is requiring the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (“ADCRR”) to make “substantial” changes to staffing and conditions so that medical care and mental healthcare at Arizona prisons comes up to constitutional standards.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View Case
Learn About Prisoners' Rights
Featured
Sep 2022
Alex A. v. Edwards
The ACLU National Prison Project and partner civil rights attorneys filed a federal class-action lawsuit to prevent the transfer of children in the custody of Louisiana's Office of Juvenile Justice to the Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola Prison.
Status: Ongoing
View case
Texas
Jul 2021
Sanchez et al v. Dallas County Sheriff et al
Decarceration has always been an emergency, a life and death proposition, but COVID-19 makes this effort intensely urgent. The ACLU has been working with our partners to litigate for the rights of those who are incarcerated and cannot protect themselves because of the policies of the institutions in which they are jailed.
Status: Ongoing
View case
Mississippi
Mar 2017
Dockery v. Hall
The ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Law Offices of Elizabeth Alexander, and the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP, filed a petition for class certification and expert reports for a federal lawsuit on behalf of prisoners at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF). The lawsuit, which was filed in May 2013, describes the for-profit prison as hyper-violent, grotesquely filthy and dangerous. EMCF is operated "in a perpetual state of crisis" where prisoners are at "grave risk of death and loss of limbs." The facility, located in Meridian, Mississippi, is supposed to provide intensive treatment to the state's prisoners with serious psychiatric disabilities, many of whom are locked down in long-term solitary confinement.
View case
Stay informed about our latest work in the courts.
By completing this form, I agree to receive occasional emails per the terms of the ACLU's privacy statement.
All Cases
61 Prisoners' Rights Cases
Apr 2008
Addressing the Unintended Consequences of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA)
ACLU Efforts to Fix the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA)
View case
Prisoners' Rights
Smart Justice
Addressing the Unintended Consequences of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA)
ACLU Efforts to Fix the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA)
Apr 2008
View case
U.S. Supreme Court
Jan 2007
Jones v. Bock and Williams v. Overton
Challenge to a set of judicially-created rules that seriously impair a prisoner's ability to bring grievances to federal court. DECIDED
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
U.S. Supreme Court
Prisoners' Rights
Smart Justice
Jones v. Bock and Williams v. Overton
Challenge to a set of judicially-created rules that seriously impair a prisoner's ability to bring grievances to federal court. DECIDED
Jan 2007
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
U.S. Supreme Court
Feb 2006
Beard v. Banks
Reviewing whether maximum security prisoners in long-term segregation can be denied access to all non-religious newspapers and magazines. DECIDED
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
U.S. Supreme Court
Prisoners' Rights
Smart Justice
Beard v. Banks
Reviewing whether maximum security prisoners in long-term segregation can be denied access to all non-religious newspapers and magazines. DECIDED
Feb 2006
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
U.S. Supreme Court
Feb 2006
Woodford v. Ngo
Reviewing whether federal law bars a prisoner who files a late administrative claim from ever challenging the conditions of his confinement in federal court. DECIDED
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
U.S. Supreme Court
Prisoners' Rights
Smart Justice
Woodford v. Ngo
Reviewing whether federal law bars a prisoner who files a late administrative claim from ever challenging the conditions of his confinement in federal court. DECIDED
Feb 2006
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
U.S. Supreme Court
Nov 2005
Goodman v. Georgia
Reviewing whether state prisons that discriminate against prisoners with disabilities can be sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act. DECIDED
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
U.S. Supreme Court
Prisoners' Rights
Smart Justice
Goodman v. Georgia
Reviewing whether state prisons that discriminate against prisoners with disabilities can be sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act. DECIDED
Nov 2005
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case