Confinement Outreach Program

The Supreme Court held in Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 823 (1977) that "the fundamental constitutional right of access to the courts requires prison authorities to assist inmates in the preparation and filing of meaningful legal papers with adequate law libraries or adequate assistance from persons trained in the law." Id. at 828.  The New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement extends pro bono educational services to local prisoners to help provide information regarding legal process in accordance with Bounds through providing weekly training to prisoners during the academic year.  Students on the Journal travel to the Middlesex County Correctional Facility [pictured] and present information on topics that are relevant to the prison population, including the 4th, 6th, 8th, and 14th Amendments, legal research, procedural process of a trial, basic evidentiary issues, and relevant current case law, all of which is associated in part with the articles published in the Journal.

This program, established in 1978 through a relationship between the Journal and the Correctional facility, represents the only program of its kind in New England.  Continued interest on the part of the students and desire on the part of the Correctional Facility staff and prisoners has supported the relationship between the two entities and the Confinement Outreach Program continues to thrive.  If you are interested in more information about prison or correctional law, see http://www.nesl.edu/research/prison.cfm.