Corrections Telecommunication and Technology
F. Warren Benton, Ph.D.
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For the correction manager, law and correctional practice are intertwined. Federal and State law shape and control how we manage correctional programs and facilities. In the past, to understand and apply the law required a lawyer and access to a law library. With the advent of the Internet, much federal and state law, in the form of statutes and case law, is available directly. According to an old saying, if you act as your own lawyer, you have a fool for a client. The old saying may still be valid, but your "fool" can be very well informed.
Several web sites maintain listings of important federal court decisions relating to correctinss. The Prison law page is maintained primarily for prisoners and other people interested in developments in California corrections. However, their annocated listing of past federal court decisions is an excellent general resource. It would be even more useful if the discussions included links to the actual cases involved.
The Code of Federal Regulations is the repository for all of the rules and regulations of the federal government. This is a searchable database. If you search on "prisons," for example, you find the organizational structure of the Department of Justice, and rules about correctional industries. The federal sentencing code, as well as regulations for federal grand and aid programs are also available.
Corrections and Law on the Internet
by F. Warren Benton, Ph.D.
Copyright Corrections Managers' Report, August/September 1998
You know that you have arrived as a correctional manager when you can go to the web site of the United Sates Circuit Court of Appeals for your jurisdiction, enter your name in their search engine, and find cases where you are the defendant. It is even more satisfying if you are the prevailing party!
Federal Case Law
Supreme Court cases define basic standards for many aspects of correctional operations. They are public documents, and are available, from 1893 to the present, at FindLaw Supreme Court Cases. Findlaw is a search engine that concentrates on law and related aspects of the internet. These cases, along with circuit court cases, are also available through sites listed at the House of Representatives Internet law Library.
Federal Statutes
The U.S. Code is available from Cornell University's Legal Information Institute U.S. Code, at or the House of Representatives Internet Law Library U.S. Code. The House of Representatives site also includes the Federal Register, and a set of Treaties and related international law.
State Law
While recent Supreme Court cases can have sweeping impacts, for day to day management, state statutes are more directly relevant for administrators in state and local agencies. State law is also increasingly available on the Internet. Excellent sources are:
State codes and rules for legal professional ethics are indexed, by state, at Cornell State Codes and Rules for Professional Ethics.
Labor and Employment Law
The U.S. House or Representatives maintains an index of labor and employment law. This listing includes federal laws and regulations, as well as some state material. Since federal law and regulation applies to many aspects of state and local employment, the combined resource is useful.
Your Personal Law Library
Correctional Administrators have complained for decades, only sometimes in jest, that prisoners have access to a better law library than they do. Of course, the administrators are served by lawyers while the prisoners often have to fend for themselves. However, the internet may serve as an equalizer, as a wide range of basic resources are available online, constantly updated and improved, and never borrowed by a colleague down the hall. An excellent site is the Legal Information Institute of the Cornell Law School. For example, this site includes links to Federal Rules of Evidence and Civil Procedure. The U.S. House of Representatives maintains an Internet Law Library. Some states have similar legal resource web sites that focus on basic state law. Frequently, these are resources for public defenders. For example, in Tennessee, TnCrimLaw provides a general set of resources applicable to Tennessee.