Jailhouse Blues

IN 1989 Kenny Parker filed suit against Nevada state officials for “cruel and unusual punishment.” His complaint? They had given him a jar of creamy peanut but ter. whereas he had explicitly ordered chunky. One of Parker’s jail mates—convicted first-decree murderer David Bean—is suing the state because the jeans he was given were too tight. Causing rashes and epileptic seizures.” Another Nevada inmate, convicted child molester Chris Chapman, is suing for copies of the North American Man Boy Love Association newsletter, as a matter of First Amendment rights. Iowa prisoner Art Hartsock, wanting to “see what I’m missing while I’m in here,” has demanded greater access to pornography.

These “rights” violations seem less constitutional than comical, but they are taken seriously by the federal judiciary. In 1993, the nation’s prisoners filed over 53,000 lawsuits in federal court, generally against state governments. While most cases are dismissed as frivolous, the litigation explosion has cost the states hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees and in the costs of complying with the courts’ orders. In 1993 Nevada alone spent about $700,000 in direct legal costs defending against suits like Parker’s.

About the Author

Wesley J. Smith

Wesley J. Smith is an author and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism.

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IN 1989 Kenny Parker filed suit against Nevada state officials for “cruel and unusual punishment.” His complaint? They had given him a jar of creamy peanut but ter. whereas he had explicitly ordered chunky. One of Parker’s jail mates—convicted first-decree murderer David Bean—is suing the state because the jeans he was given were too tight. Causing rashes and epileptic seizures.” Another Nevada inmate, convicted child molester Chris Chapman, is suing for copies of the North American Man Boy Love Association newsletter, as a matter of First Amendment rights. Iowa prisoner Art Hartsock, wanting to “see what I’m missing while I’m in here,” has demanded greater access to pornography.

These “rights” violations seem less constitutional than comical, but they are taken seriously by the federal judiciary. In 1993, the nation’s prisoners filed over 53,000 lawsuits in federal court, generally against state governments. While most cases are dismissed as frivolous, the litigation explosion has cost the states hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees and in the costs of complying with the courts’ orders. In 1993 Nevada alone spent about $700,000 in direct legal costs defending against suits like Parker’s.