The Prison System and Litigation

¶ … Susan P. Sturm titled: "The Legacy and Future of Corrections Litigation" details the importance of litigation to correctional reform, the correctional and legal landscape within the Prelitigation era, and the impact of litigation on the management and organization of correctional institutions. Litigation within federal courts comes as a routine and integral part of corrections management. Because of its importance in corrections management, it has been made obligatory upon corrections officials to recognize more the legal issues that were often in the past left to corrections counsel.

One good example is the "mootness" doctrine, that while seems highly legalistic, is not so much the case. Mootness is not simply and solely an apprehension for the department of corrections council. Rather, certain decisions with direct association to mootness are commonly made by said corrections administrators not having consulted with corrections council. Making such decisions can have a major impact on results of litigation, particularly in federal court. For instance, the decision of transferring an inmate to another facility or unit within the same facility or not. Another is any decision on policy changes that concern a prisoner's diet, grooming, religious practices, and so forth. These decisions are squarely made by corrections administrators.

If corrections management is to be effective, it requires an understanding on the part of corrections officials in how such decisions connect to mootness within the setting of litigation. Litigation involves legal proceedings and legal actions that can and will dictate the life of a prisoner. Therefore, it is important to understand how things relate to each other and what consequences the actions of people within the legal system that have the power to change things for the better or make them worse. Sturm's piece is meant to highlight such problems within the court system. It shows and provides context into what could be wrong.

Cruel and unusual punishment within the context of the 8th amendment began with the idea that prisoners should not be punished to the extent that it would cause severe suffering. Before the 8th amendment, prisoners were "drawn and quartered," and beaten in order to make them confess. As society's sense of decency evolved, people began to expect a more civil way to punish criminals. Cases that involved how many times a person can be electrocute in the electric chair, drew headlines.

Ingraham v. Wright for example, considered the use of corporal punishment in public schools in Florida. Instances of students receiving hematomas from paddling and broken arms shows the effect of corporal punishment in public schools. While the Court did not find these kinds of punishments as direct violations of the 8th Amendment, it shows the extent cruel and unusual punishment can be taken when applied to areas not in the criminal justice context. Within the criminal justice context, many people undergo cruel treatment by prison guards and police officers.