What rights do prisoners keep?

Prisoners retain certain constitutional protections even while incarcerated, although many rights are restricted by the legitimate needs of prison administration. The Supreme Court summarized the principle in Wolff v. McDonnell (1974) by noting that there is no iron curtain drawn between the Constitution and the prisons of this country. Inmates retain rights under the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments, modified to fit the realities of confinement.

The Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment provides the strongest single source of prisoner rights. Estelle v. Gamble (1976) established that deliberate indifference to serious medical needs of prisoners constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Hutto v. Finney (1978) capped punitive isolation in Arkansas prisons. Brown v. Plata (2011) ordered California to reduce prison overcrowding that had contributed to inadequate medical and mental health care.

The First Amendment continues to protect religious exercise in prison, a right reinforced by the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000. Cruz v. Beto (1972) required prisons to provide reasonable opportunities for inmates of minority faiths to practice their religion, and Holt v. Hobbs (2015) held that an Arkansas prison could not categorically forbid a Muslim inmate from growing a half-inch beard. Inmates may receive and send mail, although prisons may inspect for contraband and security threats under Procunier v. Martinez (1974) and Thornburgh v. Abbott (1989).

The Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause requires prisons to provide procedural protections in disciplinary hearings, including notice of charges, an opportunity to call witnesses and present evidence, and a written statement of reasons under Wolff v. McDonnell (1974). Sandin v. Conner (1995) limited the scope of those protections to penalties that impose atypical and significant hardship. The Equal Protection Clause prohibits racial discrimination in prison administration, including segregation of inmates without compelling justification under Johnson v. California (2005).

Prisoners retain a constitutional right of access to the courts under Bounds v. Smith (1977), which requires prisons to provide adequate law libraries or legal assistance. They may file civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996 has imposed procedural requirements such as exhaustion of administrative remedies before filing in federal court.

Some rights are diminished. Inmates have no Fourth Amendment expectation of privacy in their cells under Hudson v. Palmer (1984), and many states bar voting by incarcerated felons. Naturalization candidates should remember that confinement does not extinguish constitutional rights, although it does qualify them.