18-d-1 The Prison Must Publish Rules Governing Your Conduct

LibraryA Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual (2020 Edition)

18-D-1. The Prison Must Publish Rules Governing Your Conduct

You have a basic right not to be punished for an act that your prison rules do not prohibit (unless you break the law). For example, in Richardson v. Coughlin, 107 prison officials disciplined a prisoner for circulating a petition without permission. The prisoner won the case because the prison rules didn't require prisoners to get permission before handing out petitions.108 Therefore, it was unfair to punish the prisoner for an activity that he reasonably believed the prison allowed. The Supreme Court described this principle of fairness in Grayned v. City of Rockford, 109 stating that "because we assume that man is free to steer between lawful and unlawful conduct, we insist that laws give the person of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to know what is prohibited, so that he may act accordingly." 110 In other words, you need to be given a fair chance to follow the rules and you should only be punished for breaking those rules or for breaking the law.

You also have a right not to be punished based on a vague (unclear) regulation.111 For example, a federal court in Ohio struck down as unconstitutionally vague a regulation that prohibited "objectionable" conduct between a prisoner and his or her visitor. 112 The word "objectionable" was considered vague because it can mean different things to different people. To meet the standard of due process, the regulation has to spell out exactly what type of conduct qualifies as "objectionable." 113 A regulation can also be found vague as applied to your particular case. In Rios v. Lane, 114 the court found a regulation that prohibited "engaging or pressuring others to engage in gang activities" unconstitutionally vague when it was applied to a prisoner who allegedly shared information about Spanish-language political radio stations. In other words, a regulation that is not vague when you read it may be considered vague in your particular situation if it is used to punish you for an activity that is typically considered lawful.

No matter what, you are presumed (assumed) to have knowledge of the penal law (criminal statutes). Therefore, you cannot claim that your rights have been violated just because you aren't given copies of your state's penal law.115 As one court put it, "the law presumes that...

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