NCJ Number
89802
Journal
New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1983) Pages: 249-278
Date Published
1983
Length
30 pages
Annotation
The Supreme Court should not have upheld the constitutionality of double-celling in prisons in Bell v. Wolfish (1979) and Rhodes v. Chapman (1981).
Abstract
These two decisions call double-celling permissible where no discernible hardship is worked on the inmate population. They constitute a departure from today's standards of decency and emphasize institutional interests at the expense of prisoners' rights. The Court has never engaged itself in a meaningful balance of these two interests. Of several due process balancing tests, only the intermediate standard of review attempts to give equal weight to both sides of an issue. The suggested method by which it would be applied to prison condition issues is to combine it with the 'adequacy' test found in Wolfish. Shortcomings of this test are mentioned. A total of 183 footnotes are included.