| civil death | The loss of all civil rights.
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| Estelle v. Gamble | The Supreme Court ruling that the deliberate indifference of prison officials or personnel to the serious medical needs of inmates constitutes cruel and unusual punishment proscribed by the Eighth Amendment.
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| habeas corpus | A writ that directs the person holding a prisoner to bring him or her before a judicial officer to determine the lawfulness of imprisonment.
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| "hands-off" doctrine | The refusal of the courts to hear inmate complaints about the conditions of incarceration and the constitutional deprivations of penitentiary life.
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| Holt v. Sarver | The federal court decision declaring the Arkansas prison system to be in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
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| Hudson v. Palmer | The Supreme Court ruling that a prisoner has no reasonable expectation of privacy in his prison cell entitling him to Fourth Amendment protection.
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| injunctive relief | A court order, emanating from a habeas corpus action, directing prison officials to improve conditions or to stop enforcing unlawful policies.
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| Jackson v. Bishop | The federal court decision declaring that whipping is in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
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| Johnson v. Avery | The Supreme Court ruling that unless a state provides some reasonable legal assistance to inmates seeking postconviction relief, a jailhouse lawyer must be permitted to aid inmates in filing habeas corpus petitions.
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| Jones v. North Carolina Prisoners' Labor Union | The Supreme Court ruling that prison regulations prohibiting the organized activities of inmate labor unions are not violative of the freedom of association clause of the First Amendment.
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| lockdown | A situation in which inmates are confined to their cells around the clock, denied exercise, work, recreation, and visits.
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| Monroe v. Pape | The Supreme Court ruling that citizens can bring Section 1983 suits against state officials in federal courts without first exhausting state judicial remedies.
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| privatization of corrections | The construction, staffing, and operation of prisons by private industry for profit.
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| Procunier v. Martinez | The Supreme Court ruling that prison mail censorship is constitutional only when the practice furthers government interests in security and rehabilitation and when the restrictions are no greater than necessary to satisfy the particular government interest involved.
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| Rhodes v. Chapman | The Supreme Court ruling that cell overcrowding, in and of itself, is neither cruel nor unusual.
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| Ruiz v. Estelle | The federal court decision declaring the Texas prison system to be unconstitutional.
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| Section 1983 | The section of the Civil Rights Act of 1871 used by state prisoners as a vehicle for access to the federal courts to litigate inmate rights.
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| Thornburgh v. Abbott | The Supreme Court ruling that federal prison regulations restricting prisoners' receipt of publications from outside prison pass First Amendment muster if they are reasonably related to legitimate penological interests.
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| Wilson v. Seiter | The Supreme Court ruling that an inmate alleging that the conditions of his or her confinement violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment must show deliberate indifference on the part of the responsible prison officials.
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| Wolff v. McDonnell | The Supreme Court ruling that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects, in part, state prisoners facing loss of good-time credit or punitive confinement.
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