Legal resources for people in prison in Texas

2503 Lake Road

P.O. Box 4005

Huntsville, TX 77342-4005

http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stcounsel/stcnsloff-home.htm

Serves: TX

Focus area/description: State Counsel for Offenders (SCFO) provides Texas prisoners with attorneys to help with legal problems. HOWEVER, this is a state office that DOES NOT handle civil rights actions against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and its employees. Most of the services involve post-conviction, criminal defense of prison cases, civil commitment defense, relief, family law, detainers and time questions.

Offenders who want help with a legal problem should first see their unit law librarian for assistance and read the Legal Handbook, published by SCFO. If they determine their problem cannot be solved at the unit law library level, they should send an I-60 by truck mail to the State Counsel for Offenders Section that would help with the legal problem, i.e. Trial, Immigration, General Legal, Civil Commitment, Time Credit or Appellate. Mail may take longer to be processed if not properly addressed.

Offenders must contact State Counsel for Offenders directly - the request for help cannot come from friends or family members.

The offender's NAME and TDCJ # must be printed on the request or we cannot help!

An offender who has been served with legal papers should immediately send the legal papers with his/her request.

7800 Shoal Creek Blvd, Ste 171-E

Austin, TX 78757

http://www.advocacyinc.org

(512) 454-4816 voice/TDD

(800) 252-9108 voice/TDD

Serves: TX

Focus area/description: Advocacy for disabled people in county jails, but not prisons, within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system.

1540 Market Street, Suite 490

San Francisco, CA 94102

http://www.prisonerswithchildren.org

(415) 552-3150 Fax

(415) 255-7036 Main

Serves: National,CA

Focus area/description: LSPC advocates for the human rights and empowerment of incarcerated parents, children, family members and people at risk for incarceration. We respond to requests for information, trainings, technical assistance, litigation, community activism and the development of more advocates. Our focus is on women prisoners and their families, and we emphasize that issues of race are central to any discussion of incarceration. LSPC does not take on individual cases, but provides legal resources and general information with an emphasis on California law.

Columbia Human Rights Law Review, Attn: JLM Order

435 W. 116th St.

New York, NY 10027

http://www3.law.columbia.edu/hrlr/order_jlm.php

jlm.board.mail@gmail.com

(212) 854-1601

Serves: National

Focus area/description: A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual (JLM) is a handbook of legal rights and procedures designed for use by people in prison. Prisoners are often indigent and therefore lack access to legal counsel while in prison. The JLM informs prisoners of their legal rights, shows them how to secure these rights through the judicial process, and guides them through the complex array of procedures and legal vocabulary which make up this system. The JLM also instructs prisoners in techniques of legal research and explains the need to take note of important legal developments. With the JLM, prisoners can learn to use effectively the resources available in prison law libraries. Since publication of the first edition in 1978, A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual has been used by tens of thousands of prisoners in institutions across the country. Prisoners have used the book to become informed of their rights and to address specific problems related to their treatment in prison or their convictions.

How do I place an order? Complete and send the order form below with a check or money order, payable to Columbia Human Rights Law Review to Columbia Human Rights Law Review, Attn: JLM Order, 435 W. 116th St., New York, NY 10027. If you send a money order, keep the receipt in case there is a problem with your order. We do not accept postage stamps as payment and also do not accept credit cards. Due to the nature of the institutional mail systems, we ask you allow 8 weeks from the purchase date to receive your order. Because our office is student run, your order may not be processed as quickly over school breaks. Orders to be sent to facilities in Michigan must be sent first class. Also, please inform us on this form of any restrictions on incoming mail that your facility may have (for example, no padded envelopes or first class mail only). Please note that we cannot fill orders without payment.

ORDER FORM
YOUR NAME:
YOUR ADDRESS:
YOUR PHONE NUMBER:
PERSON TO WHOM THE BOOK SHOULD BE SENT:
ID NUMBER (If applicable):
INSTITUTION:
ADDRESS
CITY:
STATE:
ZIP:
ORDER (Please circle the price): Standard shipping requires 4-6 weeks.
1st Class shipping 1-2 weeks. All prisoner orders are sent via 1st Class Mail

122 Commerce Street

Montgomery, AL 36104

http://www.eji.org/

(334) 269-1806 fax

(334) 269-1803 phone

Serves: National,AL

Focus area/description: EJI litigates on behalf of condemned prisoners, juvenile offenders, people wrongly convicted or charged with violent crimes, poor people denied effective representation, and others whose trials are marked by racial bias or prosecutorial misconduct. EJI works with communities that have been marginalized by poverty and discouraged by unequal treatment, and serves the state of Alabama and the Deep South in general, working nationally on selected issues. EJI also prepares reports, newsletters and manuals to assist advocates and policymakers in the critically important work of reforming the administration of criminal justice.

P.O. Box 128

Lewisburg, PA 17837-0128

http://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~mligare/LPP.html

(570) 523-1104 phone

Serves: National,PA

Focus area/description: The Lewisburg Prison Project (LPP) is a non-profit organization that assists prisoners who write LPP when they encounter treatment they perceive to be illegal or unfair. The Lewisburg Prison Project primarily assists inmates with issues that arise from their conditions of confinement. LPP writes to and visits inmates, and contacts prison authorities on behalf of inmates. The LPP also furnishes inmates with appropriate legal materials. As of 2010, the organization does not have an attorney on staff; therefore, the LPP is not able to give legal advice, file suits, or address criminal or post-conviction cases.

The Lewisburg Prison Project offers a range of low-cost legal bulletins ($1-3, prices subject to change) on specific topics concerning prisoner’s rights. Inmates can write to the LPP to request a bulletin order form.

2010 Legal Bulletins include:
1.1 Civil Actions in Federal Court: How to Select, File, & Follow Legal Actions
1.2 Legal Research: Guide to Legal Research
1.3 Access to Records: How to get your records, Privacy rights
1.5 Federal Tort Claims
1.8 Injunctive Relief
2.1 Religious Rights in Prison
2.3 Speech, Association, Visitation
4.1 Rights of Pretrial Detainees
6.1 Disciplinary Hearings
6.4 Urinalysis
7.1 Assaults & Beatings
7.3 Conditions of Confinement
8.1 Medical Rights
8.2 Psychiatric & Disability Rights
8.3 AIDS in Prison
9.1 Post-Conviction Remedies
9.2 Detainers
9.3 Pennsylvania Megan’s Law
9.4 DNA Collections & Testing
102.0 The Prison Litigation Reform Act
103.0 Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies under the PLRA (abridged version 209 pgs)
104.1 Restrictions on Visitation
104.2 Smoking in Prison
104.3 Prisoner Transfers
104.4 Privileged and Non-Privileged Mail
104.5 Environmental Hazards & Toxic Materials
106.0 Pregnancy-Related Health Care in Prison or Jail
101.0 Barron’s Law Dictionary ($17.50, price subject to change)

National Lawyers Guild

132 Nassau Street, RM 922

New York, NY 10038

http://www.jailhouselaw.org/

(212) 679-2811 fax

(212) 679-5100 phone

Serves: National

Focus area/description: This Handbook is a resource 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.



The Handbook is available for free online to anyone: prisoners, lawyers, families, friends, activists and others. To download it, go to: www.jailhouselaw.org. If requesting a Handbook by mail from the National Lawyers Guild, two dollars ($2) is requested, but not necessary, to help cover postage costs. Stamps are accepted.



If you are unable to download the Handbook and would like to receive a copy via mail, please write to:



National Lawyers Guild

132 Nassau Street, RM 922, New York, NY 10038



OR



Center for Constitutional Rights

666 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10012



Please note it may take a several weeks to deliver the Handbook due to a shortage of staff and resources. It is usually much faster to download the Handbook from this site and print it yourself.



PLEASE NOTE: This organization does not have the resources to give legal advice or representation, and will not respond to mail regarding these issues. Please send only orders or comments about the JLH itself.