When: Monday, October 4, 2004, 2:00-2:30pm
Speaker: James Chapman, Illinois Institute for Community Law

In prison cases, because of their felony convictions, the plaintiff-prisoner, as well as prisoner witnesses, lack credibility in the eyes of the jury or judge. It is imperative, as a consequence, to establish the plaintiff's case, as much as possible, from prison documents. This principle takes at least two approaches: documents that are produced and those not produced. The latter are just as important. Under prison regulations, correctional officers must generate certain types of reports when unusual incidents occur or when they enter a prison tier and so on. If those documents are not produced (they were not generated), the credibility of the officers will be affected.

Click on the title of a document below to view or print the supporting material:

Federal Court Prison Litigation Project Handbook Part I
Federal Court Prison Litigation Project Handbook Part II

IDOC Memo: Department Rule Part 504, Discipline and Grievances
Sample Inmate Injury Report
Sample Committed Person's Grievance Report
Sample IDOC Memo re: Inmate Incident Inquiry
Sample IDOC Incident Report
Sample IDOC Medical Progress Notes
Sample IDOC Final Summary Report
Sample IDOC Administrative Directive: Shakedowns of Inmate Living Areas
Sample Illinois Administrative Code, Title 20, Part 504, Discipline and Grievances