Law of Incarceration: Cases and Materials, Table of Contents and Chapter 1 (2026 edition)

Abstract

This posts a table of contents and much of the first chapter to the newest edition of the leading case book on incarceration. The case book examines the complex legal regime that defines prisoners’ rights. Mass incarceration in America creates a host of controversies at the crossroads of constitutional liberty, legislation, public policy, and prison management. It considers those issues from diverse perspectives by presenting an array of materials: Supreme Court and leading lower court caselaw, statutes, litigation materials, professional standards, academic commentary, prisoner writing, and more. (There is also an associated website, http://incarcerationlaw.com, which offers additional open sources, supplementing the book for those who own it and providing a freestanding repository of materials for those who do not.

Chapter 1 provides background on American jails and prisons (What’s the difference between a jail and a prison? What is incarceration supposed to accomplish? How do prison abolitionists conceptualize and justify their goals? How did American incarceration develop?) It provides longitudinal and contemporary statistics. Finally, it offers narrative and case law background on the development of the modern conception of prisoners’ rights.

Keywords: Jails, Teaching Prison Law, Prisons, Prisoners' rights, prison law

JEL Classification: K14