Brooklyn Law School Library will fill requests from incarcerated individuals for specific materials (please include correct citations). Please list the most desired materials first. Due to budget and staffing constraints, requests are limited to one per month (per person), with a limit of 100 pages per request. Because of licensing restrictions, sometimes our library cannot fill certain requests. Our library staff mails photocopies and printouts of sources to an incarcerated individual's return address. Please mail correspondence to: Brooklyn Law School Library, 250 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual, 13th ed.
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This publicly accessible book, A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual (JLM), is a handbook of legal rights and procedures designed for use by people in prison.
Connections: A Free Guide for Formerly Incarcerated People in New York City
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A free guide for formerly incarcerated people in New York City. Includes resources relating to Education, Housing, Financial Assistance, Physical and Mental Health, Legal Support, etc. With sections specific for Immigrants, Veterans, People with Disabilities, Women, Older People, Youth, LGBTQI+, and Parents / Caregivers. Also available in Spanish through NYPL site.
Law and Policy of Sentencing and Corrections in a Nutshell
An excellent reference tool, this book explores a range of sentencing-related topics, including the principal purposes of criminal sentences, restorative justice, guilty pleas and plea bargaining, different ways to structure sentencing systems, procedural rights during sentencing proceedings, sentencing evidence, community-based sentences, the death penalty, Eighth Amendment constraints on sentences in noncapital cases, parole release, probation and parole revocation, and enmeshed penalties (often called the “collateral consequences” of a conviction). The latter half of the book contains an illuminating overview of the constitutional rights of incarcerated people, details on litigating their civil-rights suits challenging conditions of confinement and their treatment while incarcerated, and the remedies available to them.
Rights of Prisoners, 5th ed. (Westlaw)
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Since publication of the Fourth Edition of Rights of Prisoners, the Supreme Court has decided 13 cases which directly address prisoners' rights issues. Several thousand lower court cases have been decided filling the pages of the Federal Reporter and the Federal Supplement. Congress, state legislatures and administrative bodies (at both the federal and state level) have been more active in this field than ever, especially in addressing issues posed by solitary confinement and sexual abuse in prisons. Adding to the mix since the publication of the last edition, the American Bar Association promulgated an extensive set of legal standards governing the treatment of prisoners, American Bar Association, Standards for Criminal Justice, Treatment of Prisoners (2010), and the United Nations adopted the "Mandela" rules of the treatment of prisoners, U.N., Econ. & Soc. Council, U.N. Standards Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules), E/CN.15/2015/L.6/Rev.1, (2015). In order to capture these many changes, every chapter of the book has been revised and new sections added to chapters to ensure that it is completely current.
Prisoners' Rights: A Legal Research Guide
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Essential source for information on prisoners' rights. Provides educational resources for prisoners and family members.Quickly locate state and federal law sources, as well as prisoners' rights agencies. Easy to understand resource for all research levels.
Scope: New York
New York Jurisprudence (= a legal encyclopedia):
The New York Jurisprudence chapter focused on rights of incarcerated individuals is:
Would you like to donate a book (or books) to a public library collection at a New York City carceral facility or a residence for people reentering our community after incarceration?
Brooklyn's Greenlight Bookstore website hosts the Prison Library Support Network Wishlist.
Q: Who chooses these books?
A: New York City library workers who offer library services to New York City's carceral facilities and residences.
Greenlight Bookstore explains that if you choose a book(s) and pay online, the shipping cost is included and the book(s) will be delivered to a public library collection in a New York City carceral facility or residence.
For more information about book donations, donation guidelines and highly requested types of books, visit this New York Public Library web page.
For information about Brooklyn Public Library's programs and services (including volunteer opportunities) for incarcerated individuals, visit this Brooklyn Public Library web page.