newjerseynewsroom.com

The number of lawsuits filed by New Jersey prisoners is climbing. Most of those suits are drafted and filed by the inmates themselves and many are seen as frivolous. In all, officials say that an inmate files one of every seven federally filed lawsuits in the State of New Jersey and the load has placed a tremendous strain on the court system, the Associated Press reported.

While the number of suits filed by New Jersey inmates has risen 45 percent since 2006, nationally, the number has dropped. Legal experts attribute the reduction to The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) of 1996.

The measure was intended to discourage inmates from filing frivolous lawsuits by requiring them to utilize internal jail grievance procedures before turning to the courts. It was a move that incensed inmate advocates and The American Civil Liberties Union who said forcing prisoners to pay filing fees along with other obstacles prevents victims of rape, religious rights violations, and other abuses from having their constitutional claims heard in court.

Congressman Robert Scott (D-VA) agreed and introduced landmark legislation in 1996 to reconstruct the Prison Litigation Reform Act, in order to ensure due process for inmates with legitimate claims. Scott and other lawmakers agreed that the PLRA was being used to deny justice to legitimate victims of the prison system and needed to be revised.

Case in point involves Passaic County inmate Albert Mullings who claimed he is being forced to go days without a shower, denied food and water and says a guard kicked him. In court documents, Mullings, 31, wrote, "All of my efforts to file charges have been ignored by the jail, breaking my constitutional rights," The Star-Ledger reported. Mulling's, who is awaiting trial on assault and burglary charges, lawsuit was recently filed June 9 in a Newark federal court.

While Proponents of the new law may agree inmate lawsuits with validity are sometimes overshadowed by silly lawsuits, PLRA was a necessary measure to protect the courts from outright frivolous lawsuits, such as Searight v. New Jersey and hundreds more like it. In Searight v. New Jersey, inmate Searight sought $12 million in damages claiming someone was "talking to the inside of his brain" after he was taken to the Eye, Ear and Speech Clinic and the State of New Jersey unlawfully injected a radium electric beam into his left eye.

No matter the number of inmate filed lawsuits, frivolous or not, legal website 'Lectric Law Library of Carson City, Nevada reminds us that "Though sometimes absurd, don't loose sight of the fact that many prisoner's suits are meritorious and have led to significant legal gains, or that they can be an important (sometimes the only) balance against the otherwise unrestrained powers of prison officials or legislators."

Related:

Top Ten Non-Frivolous Lawsuits Filed By Prisoners

Legislation against Frivolous Lawsuits

— ALICIA CRUZ, NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM