This is an interview with Center for Constitutional Rights Staff Attorney Rachel Meeropol about a recent victory for The Jailhouse Lawyer Handbook. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) challenged the Virginia Department of Corrections’ (VDOC) decision to ban their joint publication, the Jailhouse Lawyer's Handbook, from all Virginia prisons. The NLG and CCR won the lawsuit and the settlement requires the Virginia Department of Corrections to remove the handbook from the disapproved publications list, post a notice to this effect in all prisons, and allow Virginia prisoners to receive the handbook in the future from CCR and the NLG without preapproval. 

The Jailhouse Lawyer Handbook is a resource for prisoners who wish to file a Section 1983 lawsuit in federal court regarding poor conditions in prison and / or abuse by prison staff. It also contains limited information about legal research and the American legal system. The Handbook is available at http://jailhouselaw.org/ to anyone: prisoners, lawyers, families, friends, activists and others. 

The editors of the handbook hope that the handbook will be helpful and "provide some aid in protecting your rights behind bars. As you work your way through a legal system that is often frustrating and unfair, know that you are not alone in your struggle for justice. Good luck!"