Prisoner Rights to a Law Library & Legal Supplies

As part of the constitutional right of access to the courts, people in prison have the right to use the law library for reasonable amounts of time.  

However, prison officials are not legally required to provide unlimited access.  They may limit when and how people use the law library. Lindquist v. Idaho Board of Corrections (9th Cir. 1985) 776 F. 2d 851, 858; see also Toussaint v. McCarthy (9th Cir. 1986) 801 F. 2d 1080, 1106-1110, 1113-1114 (establishing a law library for people in the SHU at San Quentin, who previously had access only through a “paging system”).

CDCR regulations also require that all people incarcerated in California prisons be allowed access to a law library so that they may have meaningful access to the courts. 15 CCR § 3122(a).

People who are not facing court deadlines are on General Legal User (GLU) status and should receive a minimum of two hours per calendar week of physical law library access if “resources are available.” 15 CCR § 3122(b); 15 CCR § 3123.

People who are not represented by an attorney in an active case and who are facing a statutory or court deadline may apply for Priority Legal User (PLU) status.  People who are granted PLU status should receive a minimum of 4 hours per calendar week of physical law library access, if resources are available; PLU status entitles them to higher priority access to law library resources. 15 CCR § 3122(b); 15 CCR § 3123(b).

Under CDCR regulations, a person should be allowed to have physical access to the law library except under “extraordinary circumstances,” such as when (1) the facility is under lockdown or a modified program; (2) the person is under restricted movement due to medical status; or (3) the person has been suspended from physical access to the law library pending investigation of a serious rule violation.  In addition, if a person is found guilty of a serious rule violation involving law library resources, facilities, or staff, their physical access to the library may be suspended for up to ninety calendar days. 15 CCR § 3123.

When access is limited due to a lockdown, the CDCR should try to restore access within sixteen calendar days unless a high security risk continues to justify prohibiting law library access.  When physical access is limited for any reason, people should be allowed to request that library staff deliver legal materials to them; this is called “paging.”  Law library staff must deliver the requested material to a person’s cell no later than sixteen calendar days after the request. 15 CCR § 3123; see also Hebbe v. Pliler (9th Cir. 2010) 627 F. 3d 338 (incarcerated person had triable claim that First Amendment right of access to the courts was violated because he was denied access to the prison law library during lockdowns and was never informed about the paging system).

People who do not speak English, who are disabled, or who do not read and write well may require additional assistance to assure their right of access to the courts.  Sometimes, this assistance might be provided by incarcerated “law clerks” who have received paralegal-type training. Lindquist v. Idaho Board of Corrections (9th Cir. 1985) 776 F.2d 851, 855-857.

There is no definitive answer to the question of what makes a prison law library constitutionally adequate. In the past, the U.S. Supreme Court has cited to guidelines proposed by the American Correctional Association, the American Bar Association, and the American Association of Law Libraries, which recommend that prison law libraries provide at least the following items: state codes (statutes); portions of an annotated U.S. Code pertaining to crimes and criminal procedure, habeas corpus, civil procedure, appellate procedure, and civil rights actions; federal and state case law reporters from 1960 to the present; statewide and local Rules of Court; the Criminal Law Reporter; Shepard’s citation volumes (for determining if cases are still good law); a law dictionary; and treatises. Bounds v. Smith (1977) 430 U.S. 817, 819 fn. 4, 97 S. Ct. 1491; 52 L.Ed.2d 72; see also Lindquist, supra, at 856.

The CDCR regulations and the DOM list the minimum resources that California prison law libraries are required to have, and also require that library staff keep materials up to date and replace lost or damaged materials. 15 CCR § 3124(a); DOM §§ 101120.11-101120.13. 

For nearly four decades, a court injunction set requirements for the contents of California prison law libraries; however, the injunction was terminated in 2010. Gilmore v. Lynch (N.D. Cal. 1970) 319 F. Supp. 105; Gilmore v. Lynch (N.D. Cal. Oct. 16, 1972) No. 66-45878, Order Directing Adoption of Regulations to Implement Previous Order Granting Relief; Gilmore v California (N.D. Cal. Apr. 4, 2010) No. 66- 45878 Order Granting Defendants’ Motion to Terminate Injunction.

Some materials – Corpus Juris Secundum, California Jurisprudence and Federal Rules Decisions or their equivalents – are available only from a “circulating law library” upon requests made to the local institution law librarian. 15 CCR § 3124(b); DOM § 101120.14.  The CDCR has also begun to make electronic research databases available in California prison law libraries.

The right of effective access to the courts includes the right to get basic supplies necessary to communicate with the courts.  According to the U.S. Supreme Court, all prisons must provide people who are indigent (do not have money) with paper and something to write with, as well as postage to mail legal documents to the courts. Bounds v. Smith (1977) 430 U.S. 817, 824-825, 97 S. Ct. 1491; 52 L. Ed. 2d 72.

However, people in prison do not have a constitutional right to use a typewriter to prepare legal documents. Nevada Dept. of Corrections v. Greene (9th Cir. 2011) 648 F. 3d 1014 (Nevada prison ban on personal possession of typewriters did not infringe upon the right to court access); Jackson v. Arizona (9th Cir. 1989) 885 F. 2d 639, 641; Lindquist v. Idaho Board of Corrections (9th Cir. 1985) 776 F. 2d 851, 858.

CDCR regulations state that indigent people shall be provided with free postage for mailing documents to the courts and to the Attorney General’s office. 15 CCR § 3138(h). This is in addition to the right of indigent people to receive five free stamped envelopes a week for general correspondence. See 15 CCR § 3138(a).

The CDCR also provides for photocopying of legal documents so that people may send required copies to the courts and opposing parties, as well as keep copies for their own records.  Necessary legal documents shall be copied free of charge for people who are indigent; however, people with $1.00 or more in their trust account must pay for copies.  The legal documents may be no more than fifty pages long, unless the person explains the need for more pages.  Prison officials may restrict a person’s use of legal document photocopying services if the person abuses the services to an extent that deprives others of access or creates unnecessary expense to the state; however, such restrictions must not interfere with the person’s right of access to the courts. 15 CCR § 3138(h); 15 CCR § 3162.

While this article appears on our website, its contents must be attributed to the Prison Law Office, who we thank for their wonderful treatise, California Prison and Parole Law Handbook, from which much of the contents in this article originate.