This annual survey examines important prisoners' rights cases decided by the U.S. Courts of Appeals during 2011. These cases addressed constitutional questions about inmate-on-inmate violence, lockdowns, delayed medical care, custodial suicide, gender identity disorder, excessive staff force, unsolicited mail, religious dress and diets, impermissible staff retaliation, cross-gender searches, and procedural due process. In addressing these constitutional questions, the U.S. Courts of Appeal created new law and/or applied clearly established law. Because the U.S. Supreme Court will only rarely grant certiorari to appellants, the U.S. Courts of Appeals remain the de facto courts of last resort for all but a few prisoners who challenge the constitutionality of the manner of their confinement.
American Correctional Association. (2003). Standards for adult correctional institutions. Alexandria, VA: American Bar Association.
3.
Archuleta v. Wagner, 520 F.3d 1278 (10th Cir. 2008).
4.
BeckA. J.HarrisonP. M.BerzofskyM.CasparR.KrebsC. (2010). Sexual victimization in prisons and jails reported by inmates, 2008-09: National inmate survey, 2008-09. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
5.
Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520. (1979).
6.
Bishop v. Hackel, 636 F.3d 757 (6th Cir. 2011).
7.
BostonJ. (2001). The Prison Litigation Reform Act The new face of court stripping. Brooklyn Law Review, 67, 429–454.
8.
BostonJ.ManvilleD. E. (2010). Prisoners’ self-help litigation manual (4th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
9.
BranhamL. S. (2002). The law of sentencing, corrections, and prisoners' rights. St. Paul, MN: West Group.
10.
Brown v. Plata, 131 S. Ct. 1910. (2011).
11.
BuchananK. S. (2010). Our prisons ourselves: Race, gender, and the rule of law. Yale Law and Policy Review, 28, 1–82.
12.
BurkeK. S. (2010). What made drug courts so successful?New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement, 36, 39–58.
13.
Byrd v. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department, 629 F.3d 1135 (9th Cir. 2011).
14.
CohenF. (2008). Correctional health care: A retrospective. Correctional Law Reporter, 20, 5–6, 9, 12.
15.
Commission on Safety and Abuse in Prison. (2005). Confronting confinement. Washington, DC: Author.
16.
CooperJ. O.BermanD. A. (2000). Passive virtues and casual vices in the federal courts of appeals. Brooklyn Law Review, 66, 685–754.
17.
Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense & Ed. Fund, Inc.,473 U.S. 788 (1985).
18.
Cornell v. Woods, 69 F.3d 1383 (8th Cir. 1995).
19.
Coscia ex rel. Estate of Coscia v. The Town of Pembroke, Mass., 659 F.3d 37 (1st Cir. 2011).
20.
EigenbergH. M. (1994). Rape in male prisons: Examining the relationship between correctional officers’ attitudes toward male rape and their willingness to respond to acts of rape. In BraswellM. C.MontgomeryR. H.LombardoL. X. (Eds.), Prison violence in America (2nd ed., pp. 145–165). Cincinnati, OH: Anderson.
21.
Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976).
22.
Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994).
23.
Fields v. Smith, 653 F.3d 550 (7th Cir. 2011).
24.
Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of County of Burlington, 131 S. Ct. 1816 (2011).
25.
Graham v. Henderson, 89 F.3d 75 (2d Cir. 1996).
26.
GrossB. (2008). Prison violence: Does brutality come with the badge?Forensic Examiner, 17, 21–27.
27.
GuerinoP.BeckA. J. (2011). Sexual victimization reported by adult correctional authorities, 2007-2008. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
28.
Harvard Law Review Association. (2011). Constitutional law—Eighth Amendment—Seventh Circuit invalidates Wisconsin Sex Change Prevention Act—Fields v. Smith, 653 F.3d 550 (7th Cir. 2011). Harvard Law Review, 125, 650–657.
29.
Hicks v. Norwood, 640 F.3d 830 (8th Cir. 2011).
30.
Howard v. Waide, 534 F.3d 1227 (10th Cir. 2008).
31.
Hudson v. McMillian, 503 U.S. 1 (1992).
32.
Hyrdlica v. Reniff, 631 F.3d 1044 (9th Cir. 2011).
33.
Jones v. Horne, 634 F.3d 588 (D.C. Cir. 2011).
34.
Kuperman v. Wrenn, 645 F.3d 69 (1st Cir. 2011).
35.
Leavitt v. Correctional Medical Services, 645 F.3d 484 (1st Cir. 2011).
36.
MaruriS. (2011). Note, hormone therapy for inmates: A metonym for transgender rights. Cornell Journal of Law & Public Policy, 20, 807–832.
37.
MaruschakL. M. (2009). HIV in prisons, 2007-08. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
38.
McCabe v. Mais, 580 F. Supp. 2d 815 (N.D. Iowa2008).
39.
MintonT. D. (2011). Jail inmates midyear 2010. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
40.
Mitchell v. Cate, Case No. 08-CV-1196-RAJ (complaint filed in E.D. Cal. 2011).
41.
Moton v. Cowart, 631 F.3d 1337 (11th Cir. 2011).
42.
NathanV. M. (2001). Evaluation of the inmate grievance system. Columbus: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
O’Bryant v. Finch, 637 F.3d 1207 (11th Cir. 2011).
47.
Office of the Federal Register, 76 Federal Registry 6248, Feb. 4, (2011). Retrieved November 15, 2011, fromhttp://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/
48.
O’Lone v. Estate of Shabazz, 482 U.S. 32 (1987).
49.
Overton v. Bazzetta, 539 U.S. 126 (2003).
50.
Persechini v. Callaway, 651 F.3d 802 (8th Cir. 2011).
51.
Prison Law Office and Bingham McCutchen LLP sue to end racially discriminatory lockdowns in California’s prisons. (2011, April 27). Retrieved January 10, 2012, fromhttp://www.prisonlaw.com/pdfs/MitchellPR.pdf
52.
RobertsonJ. E. (2006). The Rehnquist court and the “turnerization” of prisoners’ rights. New York City Law Review, 10, 97–125.
SchlangerM. (2010). Regulating segregation: The contribution of ABA criminal justice standards on the treatment of prisoners. American Criminal Law Review, 47, 1421–1440.
57.
Struckman-JohnsonC.Struckman-JohnsonD.RuckerL.BumbyK.DonaldsonS. (1996). Sexual coercion reported by men and women in prison. Journal of Sex Research, 33, 67–76.
58.
Superintendent v. Hill, 472 U.S. 45 (1985).
59.
Swarthout v. Cooke, 131 S. Ct. 859 (2011).
60.
Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401 (1989).
61.
Toevs v. Reid, 646 F.3d 752 (10th Cir. 2011).
62.
Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78 (1987).
63.
Vinning-El v. Evans, 657 F.3d 591 (7th Cir. 2011).
