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Ideology, Disadvantage, and Federal District Court Inmate Civil Rights Filings: The Troubling Effects of Pro Se Status

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  • Anna Gunderson

Abstract

Nearly 80 percent of all federal judicial activity occurs in the district courts and a significant portion of that activity is the result of prisoners filing petitions against state and federal correctional representatives. We know relatively little about these lawsuits, however. This article focuses on inmate civil rights filings as a vital form of political action of those incarcerated and argues that ideology and disadvantage play a role in the ultimate outcome of these cases. I amass a large dataset of every prison condition or civil rights petition filed by an inmate from 1989 to 2016 and find that while ideology does not predict the likelihood an inmate lawsuit will succeed, that prisoners' pro se status, whether they file the petition without the aid of an attorney, makes it significantly more likely the suit will be dismissed and less likely that inmate will receive relief. This is suggestive evidence that pro se status, and not necessarily actual legal quality, may be driving outcomes in prisoners' rights cases. This article has implications not only for the study of judicial decision making in the federal district courts, but also as an example of important political action of a disenfranchised and neglected group in our legal system.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Gunderson, 2021. "Ideology, Disadvantage, and Federal District Court Inmate Civil Rights Filings: The Troubling Effects of Pro Se Status," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(3), pages 603-628, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:empleg:v:18:y:2021:i:3:p:603-628
    DOI: 10.1111/jels.12290
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christina L. Boyd & Pauline T. Kim & Margo Schlanger, 2020. "Mapping the Iceberg: The Impact of Data Sources on the Study of District Courts," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), pages 466-492, September.
    2. Anne Morrison Piehl & Margo Schlanger, 2004. "Determinants of Civil Rights Filings in Federal District Court by Jail and Prison Inmates," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 1(1), pages 79-109, March.
    3. Joshua B. Fischman & Max M. Schanzenbach, 2011. "Do Standards of Review Matter? The Case of Federal Criminal Sentencing," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(2), pages 405-437.
    4. Richard T. Boylan & Naci Mocan, 2014. "Intended and Unintended Consequences of Prison Reform," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 30(3), pages 558-586.
    5. Christina L. Boyd & Lee Epstein & Andrew D. Martin, 2010. "Untangling the Causal Effects of Sex on Judging," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(2), pages 389-411, April.
    6. Herbert M. Kritzer, 2008. "To Lawyer or Not to Lawyer: Is that the Question?," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 5(4), pages 875-906, December.
    7. Ashenfelter, Orley & Eisenberg, Theodore & Schwab, Stewart J, 1995. "Politics and the Judiciary: The Influence of Judicial Background on Case Outcomes," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(2), pages 257-281, June.
    8. Max Schanzenbach, 2005. "Racial and Sex Disparities in Prison Sentences: The Effect of District-Level Judicial Demographics," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(1), pages 57-92, January.
    9. Richard T. Boylan & Naci H. Mocan, 2009. "Intended and Unintended Consequences of Prison Reform," NBER Working Papers 15535, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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