Discussion Question

Workshop #3 Discussion Board (CLICK HERE)
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1. The important role that jailhouse lawyers play in the criminal justice system has been recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has held that jailhouse lawyers must be permitted to assist illiterate inmates in filing petitions for post-conviction relief unless the state provides some reasonable alternative.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court also has recognized that prison authorities may restrict the activities of prisoners who provide more formalized legal advice. For example, in Shaw v. Murphy, the Court held that prisoners do not possess a First Amendment right to provide legal advice to other prisoners. In so ruling, the Court permitted prison officials to discipline inmates who do not have authority to assist other inmates with their legal problems.

2. For your discussion post, please answer the following questions: 1) List the pros of allowing inmates to be jailhouse lawyers. 2) List the cons of jailhouse lawyers. 3) Do you think inmates should be permitted to be jailhouse lawyers? Why or why not? 4) What should the system to about potentially troublesome jailhouse lawyers? Or jailhouse lawyers that continuously tie up the court system?

3. Make sure to answer all questions.In order for your post to qualify for full credit it must be at least 250 words long. This post is due in the Workshop #3, Original Discussion Board, by Friday 4/17.