Jailhouse lawyer

Jailhouse lawyer

Jailhouse lawyer is a colloquial term in North American English to refer to an inmate in a jail or other prison who, though usually never having practiced law nor having any formal legal training, informally assists other inmates in legal matters relating to their sentence (e.g. appeal of their sentence, pardons, stays of execution, etc.) or to their conditions in prison. Sometimes, he or she also assists other inmates in civil matters of a legal nature.

The term can also refer to a prison inmate who is representing themselves in legal matters relating to their sentence.

Many states in the U.S. have Jailhouse Lawyer Statutes, some of which exempt inmates acting as jailhouse lawyers from the licensing requirements imposed on other attorneys when they are helping indigent inmates with legal matters.fact|date=June 2008

Cases brought by inmates have also called attention to the need for jailhouse lawyers to have access to law libraries. ["Colvin v. Schaublin", 31 Fed. Appx. 170 (6th Cir. 2002).]

The Center for Constitutional Rights and National Lawyer's Guild wrote "The Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook" in 2003 for inmates needing rudimentry information on jailhouse lawyering, which is the authoritative work on the subject.

References

External links

* [http://www.jailhouselaw.org/ CCR/NLG Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook with free download from CCR/NLG]


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  • jailhouse lawyer — n: a prison inmate self taught in the law who tries to gain release through legal maneuvers or who advises fellow inmates on their legal problems Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. jailhouse lawyer …   Law dictionary

  • jailhouse lawyer — ☆ jailhouse lawyer n. Slang a prison inmate who has learned enough about legal procedures while incarcerated to seek release or sentence reduction and, often, to counsel other inmates in doing so …   English World dictionary

  • jailhouse lawyer — noun Date: 1969 a prison inmate self taught in the law who tries to gain release through legal maneuvers or who advises fellow inmates on their legal problems …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • jailhouse lawyer — a prisoner who has taught himself or herself law while serving time, is knowledgeable about technical legal matters, and gives legal advice, esp. to fellow prisoners. [1965 70; Amer.] * * * …   Universalium

  • jailhouse lawyer — jail′house law′yer n. law a prisoner who has become knowledgeable about legal matters and gives legal advice to fellow inmates • Etymology: 1965–70 …   From formal English to slang

  • jailhouse lawyer — Inmate of a penal institution who spends his time reading the law and giving legal assistance and advice to inmates, especially to those who are illiterate. Johnson v. Avery, 393 U.S. 483, 89 S.Ct. 747, 21 L.Ed.2d 718 …   Black's law dictionary

  • jailhouse lawyer — Inmate of a penal institution who spends his time reading the law and giving legal assistance and advice to inmates, especially to those who are illiterate. Johnson v. Avery, 393 U.S. 483, 89 S.Ct. 747, 21 L.Ed.2d 718 …   Black's law dictionary

  • jailhouse lawyer — noun : a prison inmate self taught in the law who advises fellow inmates on their legal problems or tries to advance his own case * * * a prisoner who has taught himself or herself law while serving time, is knowledgeable about technical legal… …   Useful english dictionary

  • lawyer — n 1. attorney, attorney at law, legal advisor, Law. counsel, counselor, courselor at law, advocate; officer of the court, member of the bar, legal practitioner, legalist; legist, jurist, jurisprudent, Civil Law. jurisconsult, civilian; pleader,… …   A Note on the Style of the synonym finder

  • The Lincoln Lawyer — Infobox Book name = The Lincoln Lawyer title orig = translator = image caption = author = Michael Connelly illustrator = cover artist = country = USA language = English series = subject = genre = crime fiction, mystery publisher = Little, Brown… …   Wikipedia

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