Procedure

The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) of 1996 is a federal law in the United States that imposes restrictions on the ability of incarcerated individuals to bring lawsuits regarding the conditions of their confinement. The key provisions of the PLRA include: 1. Filing Fees: The PLRA requires individuals to pay filing fees for lawsuits, either in full or in installments, unless they can demonstrate that they are indigent and unable to pay. 2. Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: Before filing a lawsuit regarding prison conditions in federal court, incarcerated individuals must exhaust all available administrative remedies within the prison system. This means they must first file complaints or grievances with prison officials and go through any internal review processes before seeking relief in court. 3. Three-Strikes Rule: The PLRA includes a "three-strikes" provision that prohibits incarcerated individuals who have had three or more prior lawsuits dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim from filing further lawsuits without prepayment of the filing fee. 4. Limits on Relief: The PLRA places limits on the types of relief incarcerated persons can seek in lawsuits related to prison conditions. It restricts injunctive relief unless the plaintiff can demonstrate ongoing violations of constitutional rights and limits the award of damages for mental or emotional injury without a showing of physical injury. Overall, the PLRA was enacted with the aim of reducing the number of frivolous or malicious lawsuits filed by incarcerated persons while still allowing legitimate claims regarding prison conditions to proceed through the legal system. Unfortunately, it often is a barrier to incarcerated individuals receiving relief.