Report on the Prison Litigation Reform Act: What Have the Courts Decided so Far?

Abstract

The Prison Litigation Reform Act was passed by Congress in 1996. It had a two-fold purpose: reduce the amount of prisoner litigation and curtail the involvement of the federal courts in the operations of state prison systems. Since its passage, the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous lower federal courts have had the opportunity to interpret several of its complicated and controversial provisions. This article looks at what the courts have decided thus far and predicts future court opinions.