3-D. What is an Adequate Law Library?
The Supreme Court has never defined exactly what an "adequate" law library is.37 The American Association of Law Libraries' ("AALL") Special Committee on Law Library Services to Prisoners has a suggested list of resources that should be in a prison law library, but states are not required to follow the AALL's guidelines, and various lower courts have come up with their own list of what a prison law library should contain.38 Even if a prison has a law library that meets either a circuit's requirements or the AALL's guidelines, a court may still decide that access to the court has been denied if books are frequently missing39 or if prisoners cannot use the library.40 For example, functionally illiterate prisoners,41 non-English speakers,42 and the blind cannot use typical law libraries.43 When prisoners cannot use the law library because of illiteracy, an inability to speak English, or a disability, the state may need to provide a legal assistance program consisting of persons trained in the law in addition to, or in place of, an adequate prison law library.44
Generally, the state may limit your access to law libraries and legal materials for security reasons.45 The Supreme Court held in Lewis that, when restrictive practices are justified by security concerns, the restrictive practices will be upheld even if they make court access more difficult.46 For instance, prison officials may restrict the amount of time an individual prisoner may spend in the library47 and the amount of time the library is open "in light of legitimate security considerations."48 However, the state may not limit your access to law libraries or legal assistance to the point that it functionally blocks access to the courts.49
Prison regulations that affect segregated prisoners' access to law libraries, legal materials, and legal assistance have spawned a great deal of litigation. Courts have stopped states from enforcing regulations restricting or withholding law books from prisoners in solitary confinement.50 Several (but not all) courts have criticized "paging systems" where prisoners are given access only to legal books they specifically request.51 Other request requirements for library access have also been criticized.52 However, a prison can meet its obligation to provide a segregated prisoner with access to the courts by allowing some (but limited) access to legal materials or some access to legal assistance.53
37. The Court simply stated that prisoner access to the courts should be "adequate, effective, and meaningful" and that "'[m]eaningful access' to the courts is the touchstone." Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S....
