Free Legal Services for Inmates

I received a request from an inmate asking where they could get free legal services. Most inmates do not have the ability to pay for legal services and sometimes get railroaded because they don’t have anyone to fight for them. Here is a list of organizations, in alphabetical order, that offer free legal services for inmates. Most of them are the state’s ACLU organization, or only operate in that state. At the end are three national organizations serving inmates in all states. I used the Prison Policy Initiative’s list to compile this information.

1. ACLU California

1313 West Eighth St., #200

Los Angeles, CA 90017

http://www.aclusocal.org

(213) 977-5253

(213) 977-9543 (no collect calls please)

2. ACLU Colorado

303 E. 17th Ave., Suite 350

Denver, CO 80203

http://www.aclu-co.org/

(303) 777-5482

3. ACLU Connecticut

765 Asylum Ave

Floor 1

Hartford, CT 06105

http://www.acluct.org/en/requesting-legal-help

(860) 586-8900 Fax

(860) 523-9146 Phone

4. Florida Institutional Legal Services

PO Box 533986

Orlando, FL 32853

http://www.floridalegal.org

(407) 801-4350 phone

5. John Howard Assoc of Illinois 

70 East Lake Street, Suite 410

Chicago, IL 60601

http://www.thejha.org/

(312) 526-3714 Fax

6. ACLU Indiana 

1031 E. Washington St.

Indianapolis, IN 46202

http://www.aclu-in.org/

(317) 635-4059

7. Legal Services for Prisoners 

Attn: Charles Cavenee

PO Box 12438

Overland Park, KS 66282

http://www.legalservicesforprisoners.org

(785) 296-8887 Main

8. Minnesota Disability Law 

430 First Ave N, Ste 300

Minneapolis, MN 55401

http://www.mndlc.org

(800) 292-4150

9. ACLU Montana 

PO Box 1968

Missoula, MT 59806-1968

(406) 443-8590

aclu@aclumontana.org

10. North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, Inc. 

PO Box 25397

1110 Wake Forest Road

Raleigh, NC 27611

http://www.ncpls.org

ncpls@ncpls.org Email

(919) 856-2223 Fax

(919) 856-2200 Main

11. NJ Office of the Corrections Ombudsman

P0 Box 855

Trenton, NJ 08625

http://www.state.nj.us/correctionsombudsman/

1-555-555-5555 Inmate only toll free number

(609) 633-2596 Main

12. ACLU Nevada 

601 S. Rancho Drive, # B-11

Las Vegas, NV 89106

http://www.aclunv.org

(702) 366-1536

13. Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project 

The Cast Iron Building, Suite 304 South

718 Arch Street

Philadelphia, PA 19106

http://www.pailp.org

smyeh@pailp.org Email

(215) 925-5337 Fax

(570) 523-1104 Lewisburg Office

(215) 925-2966 Main/Philadelphia Office

(412) 434-6004 Pittsburgh Office

14. ACLU Rhode Island 

128 Dorrance Street

Suite 400

Providence, RI 02903

http://www.riaclu.org/

(401) 831-7171

15. ACLU Virginia 

701 E. Franklin St., Suite 1412

Richmond, VA 23219

http://www.acluva.org/

(804) 644-8022

16. Disability Rights Vermont 

141 Main St, Suite 7

Montpelier, VT 05602

http://www.disabilityrightsvt.org

(800) 834-7890 (toll free)

(802) 229-1355 local

17. ACLU Washington 

901 Fifth Avenue, Suite 630

Seattle, WA 98164

https://www.aclu-wa.org

(206) 624-2180

(206) 624-2184

18. National Lawyers Guild (National Resource) 

132 Nassau Street, RM 922

New York, NY 10038

http://jailhouselaw.org/

(Provides a free handbook for prisoners who wish to file a Section 1983 lawsuit in federal court regarding poor conditions in prison and/or abuse by prison staff. It also contains limited information about legal research and the American legal system.)

19. Lewisburg Prison Project (National Resource) 

P.O. Box 128

Lewisburg, PA 17837-0128

http://www.lewisburgprisonproject.org/

(570) 523-1104 phone

20. Columbia Human Rights Law Review, Attn: JLM Order (National Resource) 

435 W. 116th St.

New York, NY 10027

http://blogs2.law.columbia.edu/jlm/

jlm.board.mail@gmail.com

(212) 854-1601

(This organization only sells the Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual Eleventh Edition (the JLM Eleventh Edition”) explains the legal rights of prisoners, and how to navigate through the justice process to secure those rights. You can download it for free. Cost to mail to inmates is $30.00) 

USP LEWISBURG: ALLEGED INMATE ABUSE

This article has been copied from The Daily Item. I’m posting this because my son has been transferred into the SMU there, and I am concerned for his welfare!

Article by Marcia Moore

• Nov 29, 2016

• Amanda August/The Daily Item

An entrance to the U.S. Federal Penitentiary at Lewisburg is shown in this October 2013 file photo.

Nearly 40 civil and human rights, mental health and religious organizations are calling for a federal investigation into alleged inmate abuse at the U.S. Penitentiary at Lewisburg.

A letter delivered Monday to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch petitioning her to request the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General launch an investigation into the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) practices at Lewisburg, including housing inmates in double cells for 23 hours a day, the alleged prolonged use of hard restraints and lack of mental health treatment, was sent by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture.

Describing “harrowing allegations of abuse and torture” the letter was endorsed by 37 organizations, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Southern Poverty Center, American Civil Liberties Association and National Council of Churches.

“Prolonged isolated confinement has been defined as torture by the United Nations and is widely opposed by medical and mental health professionals and leading corrections officials,” said the Rev. Laura Markle Downton, director of U.S. Prisons Policy and Program at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. “With bipartisan momentum building at the state-level for humane alternatives to restrictive housing, reported conditions at USP Lewisburg call for swift intervention and accountability.”

Prison officials have said all complaints are taken seriously and steps have been taken to ensure the safety of all1,000 inmates housed in the SMU, prison staff and the public.

A joint National Public Radio and Marshall Project report in October on alleged abuse of inmates inside the Special Management Unit (SMU) at U.S. Penitentiary at Lewisburg, which included allegations reported by The Daily Item for years since the SMU was established at the facility in 2009 to hold the most dangerous or difficult to manage inmates in the country, prompted the call for an investigation.

At least four inmates have been killed by cellmates in seven years, pushing the rate of assault at Lewisburg six times higher than federal prisons nationwide.

Several lawsuits filed by Lewisburg inmates are pending against the BOP including a suit filed by Sebastian Richard who claims he was left in restraints for 28 days in 2011 when he refused to accept a cellmate he feared.

“By any measure, this is a facility in crisis that requires greater oversight, transparency and accountability to ensure humane and lawful conditions of confinement,” the letter to Lynch said.

Dave Sprout, paralegal with the inmate advocacy group, the Lewisburg Prison Project, has been calling for an independent investigation into alleged mistreatment of inmates at the facility for years. He hopes national attention will spur action.

“We hope that the Justice Department (and) Congress will look into the inhumane conditions that have persisted at USP Lewisburg’s SMU since 2009,” he said. BOP staff and administration should be held accountable for any violations of BOP policy, for any violations of the constitution and any possibly criminal conduct. We do not believe the BOP will investigate their own so either the Attorney General or Congress needs to investigate the practices that have been ongoing at USP Lewisburg.”

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