Correctional Litigation-A Resource for Creative Jail Management and Training

Abstract

Justice McKenna in Weems v U.S. (1910) put the clause cruel and unusual punishment into its proper sociological context when he said that the concept "may acquire meaning as public opinion becomes enlightened by a humane justice. " Chief Justice Warren, in Trop v Dulles (1958) felt that the clause "must draw its meaning from evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society. " Since 1960 a bevy of institutional cases have considered the prison and jail environment in light of "evolving standards" in corrections management as well as society. Does institutional litigation give warning to the administrators of our lockups? It appears that legislative and administrative bodies of local government concerned with jails should be well advised to carefully scrutinize the adequacy of their operations as a means of determining what changes might be necessary to assure that jails meet articulated constitutional standards. The authors view this process as positive and discuss it in terms of the practice of preventive law.