Lewis v. Casey
United States Supreme Court
518 U.S. 343 (1996)
Casey and other inmates (plaintiffs) in Arizona's prison system sued the Department of Corrections' director, Lewis (defendant), in a class action alleging deprivation of their right of access to courts and counsel. The district court found Arizona's law libraries and legal-assistance programs deficient, particularly burdening lockdown prisoners and illiterate or non-English-speaking inmates who were routinely denied meaningful legal assistance, and held the entire system unconstitutional; the court of appeals affirmed, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether the lack of an adequate law library for inmates in a state prison system violates the inmates' constitutional right of access to the courts and counsel.