BOP Program Statement 1315.08 § 5

(a) The Warden shall make materials in the inmate law library available whenever practical,

including evening and weekend hours. The Warden shall allow an inmate a reasonable

amount of time, ordinarily during the inmate's leisure time (that is, when the inmate is not

participating in a scheduled program or work assignment), to do legal research and to prepare

legal documents. Where practical, the Warden shall allow preparation of documents in living

quarters during an inmate's leisure time.

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(b) The Warden shall periodically ensure that materials in each inmate law library are kept

intact and that lost or damaged materials are replaced.

(c) Staff shall advise an inmate of rules and local procedures governing use of the inmate law

library. Unauthorized possession of library materials by an inmate constitutes a prohibited

act, generally warranting disciplinary action (see part 541 of this chapter).

Part 541 refers to the Program Statements Inmate Discipline Program and Special Housing

Units.

(d) An inmate's legal materials include but are not limited to the inmate's pleadings and

documents (such as a presentence report) that have been filed in court or with another

judicial or administrative body, drafts of pleadings to be submitted by the inmate to a court or

with other judicial or administrative body which contain the inmate's name and/or case

caption prominently displayed on the first page, documents pertaining to an inmate's

administrative case, photocopies of legal reference materials, and legal reference materials

which are not available in the institution main law library (or basic law library in a satellite

camp).

In accordance with the Program Statement Information Security, inmates may receive

electronic discovery (e-discovery) material pertaining to their own case which is necessary for

ongoing criminal proceedings, for ongoing federal civil proceedings where e-discovery is

required, or in cases where there are special circumstances necessitating the use of e-discovery.

If there is a question about whether there are special circumstances necessitating the use of e-discovery, the Regional Counsel may be consulted.

E-discovery material may only be accepted from the inmate’s attorney or a U.S. Attorney’s

Office and must be read-only format. Attorneys seeking to provide e-discovery to an inmate

must obtain prior approval from the Warden or their designee and must complete and submit the

BP-A1155, E-Discovery Material Authorization form. This form may be tailored locally.

Electronic formats include external hard drives and USB thumb drives. The e-discovery media

may be on a hard drive storage device or USB drive. Compact discs (CDs) and Digital Video

Discs (DVDs) are not authorized. Each institution will develop procedures describing how legal

representatives may request authorization to send e-discovery to an inmate, how it may be sent to

the inmate, and how that e-discovery will be maintained at the facility.

Approved e-discovery media may only contain discovery material in a criminal case, in an

ongoing federal civil proceeding where e-discovery is required, or in other cases presenting

special circumstances requiring the use of e-discovery. Prohibited data includes but is not limited

to pornography, nudity, personal photos, personal communications from third parties, games,

movies, music, executable programs such as readers, password protection/security suites, and

viruses. The e-discovery media is subject to external search and scanning for viruses and

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malware. Staff may not read the content and copying is prohibited. If staff discover that the

device includes prohibited data, the sending attorney will be contacted to resolve the issue which

may include returning the device to the sending attorney for corrective action.

There are two categories of e-discovery material:

1. Normal Access E-Discovery (NAE-D). This is discovery material that an inmate may

possess when not actively viewing it and the material does not pose an unacceptable risk

if viewed or accessed by others. This is the default category of e-discovery access and

should be the more common way for an inmate to receive and access e-discovery.

2. Sensitive Access E-Discovery (SAE-D). SAE-D refers to e-discovery materials that

cannot be in the inmate’s possession except during active viewing and must be reviewed

in a private, secure area. These materials pose an unacceptable risk if viewed or accessed

by others. SAE-D is ordinarily subject to a protective or discovery order. If the material is

not subject to a protective order, the sending attorney must submit an explanation to

justify categorizing the discovery material as SAE-D. The media containing SAE-D

material must be secured by staff when not in use. The submitting attorney is responsible

for marking such materials as SAE-D.

All e-discovery media must be handled in a manner which prevents unauthorized access. Each

inmate is responsible for securing their approved e-discovery media in their assigned locker

when not being reviewed. For security and housekeeping reasons, Wardens may require

approved e-discovery media to be stored by an appropriate department when not being reviewed.

Because e-discovery material may contain sensitive information that could affect the inmate’s

security and privacy, inmates should not permit other inmates to view or have access to this

material.

All Bureau institutions are allocated stand-alone computers for inmates to review e-discovery

material. A list of formats supported by the discovery computers is available on the Bureau’s

public webpage. Discovery computers should be positioned in a manner that allows opportunity

to view the material in a confidential setting to the greatest extent practicable.

Pretrial facilities will maintain discovery computers that allow pretrial and unsentenced

individuals to view and listen to e-discovery material in their criminal case. Discovery computers

at pretrial facilities should be placed in each housing unit, the SHU, and other locations as

determined by the Warden.

In accordance with the Program Statement Release of Information, sentenced inmates are

prohibited from retaining possession of their Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) and

Statement of Reasons (SOR). The purpose of this restriction is to protect individuals from being

coerced to produce their PSRs for illicit purposes. Inmates may review their PSR and/or SOR by

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submitting a request to their Unit Management team. This prohibition does not apply to

unsentenced inmates in Bureau custody with a need to review their PSRs prior to sentencing.

Staff may consult with Regional Counsel if there is any question whether certain items qualify as

legal materials.

(1) An inmate may solicit or purchase legal materials from outside the institution. The

inmate may receive the legal materials in accordance with the provisions on incoming

publications or correspondence (see 28 CFR part 540, subparts B and F) or through an

authorized attorney visit from a retained attorney. The legal materials are subject to

inspection and may be read or copied unless they are received through an authorized

attorney visit from a retained attorney or are properly sent as special mail (for example,

mail from a court or from an attorney), in which case they may be inspected for contraband

or for the purpose of verifying that the mail qualifies as special mail.

28 CFR part 540, subparts B and F refer to the Program Statements Correspondence and

Incoming Publications respectively.

(2) Staff may allow an inmate to possess those legal materials which are necessary for the

inmate's own legal actions. Staff may also allow an inmate to possess the legal materials of

another inmate subject to the limitations of paragraph (f)(2) of this section. The Warden

may limit the amount of legal materials an inmate may accumulate for security or

housekeeping reasons.

To ensure that legal materials do not become a security or housekeeping hazard (e.g., fire,

sanitation), each institution may establish a limit on the amount of, and storage location for legal

materials in the inmate’s living area.

The amount of storage space provided for legal materials depends upon the total storage space

available. Ordinarily, the amount may not be restricted below three cubic feet per inmate. In a

segregation or detention area, the amount ordinarily may not be restricted below one cubic foot

per inmate.

Alternate storage areas may be provided only for storing excess legal materials. Inmates willbe

provided the opportunity to dispose of or send home excess legal material not in use at the

inmate’s expense. The Regional Counsel may be consulted if there is a question as to the need

for bulky or excess legal material, or if there is any question regarding the applicability of the

legal materials to the inmate’s own legal actions.

(e) An inmate is responsible for submitting his documents to court. Institution staff who are

authorized to administer oaths shall be available to provide necessary witnessing of these

documents, as requested by inmates and at times scheduled by staff.

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See Section 11 of this program statement for further instructions on administering oaths and

acknowledgments.

(f)

(1) Except as provided for in paragraph (f)(4) of this section, an inmate may assist another

inmate in the same institution during his or her leisure time (as defined in paragraph (a) of

this section) with legal research and the preparation of legal documents for submission to a

court or other judicial body.

Any assistance offered by one inmate to another is voluntary. An inmate is not entitled to

assistance from any specific inmate. Because no inmate may conduct a business, the assisting

inmate may not receive compensation. The assisting inmate must not be provided any

privileges ordinarily afforded to attorneys or paralegals, clerks, and legal assistants, even if

the inmate was an attorney before their incarceration.

Inmates who are in different institutions are prohibited from providing legal assistance to

each other except to the extent that they may be allowed to correspond with each other about

current legal matters. For example, immediate family members, co-defendants, or co-plaintiffs may receive approval to exchange correspondence in accordance with the Program

Statement Correspondence.

Inmates who are allowed to exchange correspondence may choose to include legal material

pertinent to their joint action in their correspondence. Enclosed legal material, however, is

subject to inspection and can be read or copied.

(2) Except as provided for in paragraph (f)(4) of this section, an inmate may possess

another inmate's legal materials while assisting the other inmate in the institution's main

law library and in another location if the Warden so designates.

(i) The assisting inmate may not remove another inmate's legal materials, including

copies of the legal materials, from the law library or other designated location. An

assisting inmate is permitted to make handwritten notes and to remove those notes from

the library or other designated location if the notes do not contain a case caption or

document title or the name(s) of any inmate(s). The assisting inmate may also develop

and possess handwritten drafts of pleadings, so long as the draft pleadings do not contain

a case caption or document title or the name(s) of any inmate(s). These notes and drafts

are not considered to be the assisting inmate's legal property, and when the assisting

inmate has these documents outside the law library or other designated location, they are

subject to the property limitations in § 553.11(a) of this chapter.

§553.11(a) refers to the Program Statement Inmate Personal Property.

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(ii) Although the inmate being assisted need not remain present in the law library or other

designated location while the assistance is being rendered, that inmate is responsible for

providing and retrieving his or her legal materials from the library or other designated

location. Ordinarily, the inmate must provide and retrieve his or her legal materials

during his or her leisure time. An inmate with an imminent court deadline may request a

brief absence from a scheduled program or work assignment in order to provide or

retrieve legal materials from an assisting inmate.

The inmate library is the most appropriate location for allowing inmates to assist one another

with legal matters however, the Warden may choose to designate additional locations.

Where it is difficult to use the institution’s main library (e.g., at a medical facility, a

metropolitan detention center, a metropolitan correctional center, an administrative maximum

security facility, an administrative high security level institution, or in a SHU, pretrial unit, or

holdover unit), the Warden should designate another location. The need for institution security,

good order, or discipline, however, may prevent the use of another location.

The inmate being assisted must bring their legal materials to the inmate library or other

designated location to provide them to the assisting inmate. The assisting inmate may not remove

the legal materials from the library or other designated location.

Legal materials left unattended in the inmate library or other designated location may be

disposed of as nuisance contraband or returned by staff to the owner. Staff may consult with

institution legal staff or Regional Counsel if they have a question about who owns the legal

materials.

(3) The Warden may give special consideration to the legal needs of inmates in mental

health seclusion status in federal medical centers or to inmates in controlled housing.

(4) The Warden at any institution may impose limitations on an inmate's assistance to

another inmate in the interest of institution security, good order, or discipline.

For reasons of security, inmates in an administrative institution or unit, or in a SHU, have limited

access to other inmates on those units and no access to general population inmates. Legal

assistance under Section 5 of this program statement remains available for such inmates.

(g) The institution staff shall, upon an inmate's request and at times scheduled by staff,

duplicate legal documents if the inmate demonstrates that more than one copy must be

submitted to court and that the duplication cannot be accomplished by use of carbon paper.

The inmate shall bear the cost, and the duplication shall be done so as not to interfere with

regular institution operations. Staff may waive the cost if the inmate is without funds or if the

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material to be duplicated is minimal, and the inmate's requests for duplication are not large or

excessive.

In such cases, staff may request the inmate follow procedures for reimbursement for the amount

of legal copies received at the government’s expense. Inmates must complete the paper version

of the BP-199 (“green form”) and submit the form for processing to Trust Fund through their

Unit Manager. To prevent abuses of this provision (e.g., inmate shows a pattern of depleting

their commissary funds prior to requesting duplication of legal documents) the Warden may

impose restrictions on the provisions of subsection (g).

(h) Unless clearly impractical, the Warden shall allow an inmate preparing legal documents

to use a typewriter, or, if the inmate cannot type, to have another inmate type his documents.

The Warden may allow the inmate to hire a public stenographer to type documents outside

the institution, but the institution may not assume the expense of hiring the public

stenographer. Staff shall advise the inmate of any delay in the typing of which they have

received notice from the stenographer.

(i) The Warden shall give special time allowance for research and preparation of documents

to an inmate who demonstrates a requirement to meet an imminent court deadline.

Otherwise, each inmate shall continue his regular institutional activities without undue

disruption by legal activities.

Inmates who request time to do legal research and preparation for filing legal documents during

their regularly scheduled work time may be required to do so first during all available leisure

time. When such requests are made, staff may also authorize the inmate to work reduced hours.

For example, an inmate may be allowed mornings to do legal research, work in the afternoons,

and then use evenings for further research. The Regional Counsel may be consulted regarding

such arrangements.

(j) With consideration of the needs of other inmates and the availability of staff and other

resources, the Warden shall provide an inmate confined in disciplinary segregation or

administrative detention a means of access to legal materials, along with an opportunity to

prepare legal documents. The Warden shall allow an inmate in segregation or detention a

reasonable amount of personal legal materials. In no case shall the amount of personal legal

materials be such as to pose a fire, sanitation, security, or housekeeping hazard.

A reasonable amount of personal legal material in segregation or detention is approximately

one cubic foot. Greater amounts may be allowed when an inmate has an imminent court

deadline.

The Regional Counsel should be consulted before the accumulation of legal materials is limited

for housekeeping reasons.

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