E. Brief Summary of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (plra)

• Library: The Jailhouse Lawyer's Handbook (CCR) (2021 Ed.)

E. Brief Summary of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA)

The PLRA is an anti-prisoner statute which became law in 1996 and has made it much harder for prisoners to gain relief in the federal courts. While you will learn more about the PLRA in the following chapters, this section provides a brief outline of its major parts, or "provisions," so that you keep them in mind as you start to plan your lawsuit. The full text of several important sections of the PLRA are included in Appendix F. One important thing to keep in mind is that most of these provisions only apply to suits filed while you are in prison. If you want to sue for damages after you are released, you will not need to worry about these rules.

1. Injunctive Relief

18 U.S.C. § 3626 limits the "injunctive relief" (also called "prospective relief") that is available in prison cases. Injunctive relief is a court order to...