How One Prisoner’s Persistence Paid Off: The Tale of Inmate Barry Jameson

Despite the best efforts of the Legislature to limit frivolous prisoner lawsuits by enacting the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), which requires exhaustion of administrative remedies, proof of a physical injury that is more than de minimis in order to recover emotional distress damages, and limits attorney fee recovery to 150% of the verdict, the…

No Pain, No Gain? A Review of the Physical Injury Requirement under the Prison Litigation Reform Act

In 1996, the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) was enacted to address the increase of prisoner litigation in federal courts.  One provision of the PLRA states that an inmate cannot seek monetary damages for mental or emotional injuries unless that inmate can show a physical injury. So what happens if an inmate files a lawsuit,…

Ninth Circuit Adds Extra Step to Screening Process for Pro Se Prisoner Claims

Groundhog’s Day may not be until February, but several parties in pro se cases may start feeling a sense of de ja vu by seeing screening orders that seem duplicative of orders they’ve seen before. This is the result of a recent case Michael B. Williams v. Audrey King, et al., whereby the Ninth Circuit’s…

When is a Plaintiff a “Prisoner” for Purposes of Exhausting Administrative Remedies under the PLRA?

An Analysis of the Ninth Circuit’s Ruling in Jackson v. Fong.