This updated tenth edition covers all aspects of prisoners’ rights, including an overview of the judicial system and constitutional law and explanation of specific constitutional issues regarding correctional populations. It also discusses the federal statutes that affect correctional administration and inmates’ rights to bring litigation. Accessible and reader-friendly, it provides a practical understanding of how constitutional law affects the day-to-day issues of prisons, jails, and community corrections programs. The tenth edition includes a thorough update of relevant case law, and new chapters are included that deliver the latest developments on Search, Seizure, and Privacy, Juveniles and Youthful Offenders, and the Death Penalty. Part II contains the Supreme Court syllabi for the significant Court cases relating to the concepts covered. This updated edition is appropriate as a primary text for undergraduate or graduate-level correctional law and prisoner rights courses within Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Sociology departments. It is also an invaluable reference tool for law students and correctional agencies.

This text details critical information on all aspects of prison litigation, including information on trial and appeal, conditions of isolated confinement, access to the courts, parole, right to medical aid and liabilities of prison officials. Highlighted topics include application of the Americans with Disabilities Act to prisons, protection given to HIV-positive inmates, and actions of the Supreme Court and Congress to stem the flow of prison litigation. Part II contains Judicial Decisions Relating to Part I. Part II contains briefs of judicial decisions related to the topics covered in the the text, in order to help the reader learn rule of law as well as the reasoning of the court that guides future court rulings. Appendices include Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America, related court rulings, and a table of cases.

The Legal Rights of the Convicted makes a unique scholarly contribution to an important and emerging field. It is a comprehensive examination of the legal rights of convicted offenders. Belbot and Hemmens do more than simply discuss court cases and legal doctrines. They provide both the historical and political context in which the decisions were rendered. The text is especially good at helping students appreciate the prison environment and how the legal issues that prisoners raise are impacted by that unique setting. The text introduces students to the place where law intersects with corrections and has cross appeal to students of corrections, law, and the sociology of law. This textbook incorporates a number of distinctive and innovative features, including a focus on current issues in corrections law, a discussion of recent scholarship/research on current corrections law, a discussion of the historical antecedents of constitutional corrections law, and a full discussion of the legal issues associated with community corrections, the fastest growing area in corrections law and practice. Several of these features are not covered in the existing corrections textbooks. I recommend it highly and without any reservations. -- Joan Petersilia, Adelbert H. Sweet Professor of Law, Stanford Law School