California Code of Regulations › Title 15 - Crime Prevention and Corrections › Division 3 - Adult Institutions, Programs and Parole › Chapter 1 - Rules and Regulations of Adult Operations and Programs › Subchapter 2 - Inmate Resources › Article 3 - Confidentiality and Privacy › Section 3122 - Inmate Law Library

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) Each
					 facility shall provide legal materials through its law library to provide inmates
					 with meaningful access to the courts.
(b) Inmates who have established court deadlines
					 may apply for Priority Legal User (PLU) status to the prison law libraries. Inmates
					 who are granted PLU status based on their application shall receive higher priority
					 to prison law library resources than other inmates. All inmates who are not on PLU
					 status are on General Legal User (GLU) status.
(1)
					 An established court deadline may be either a court imposed deadline for an active
					 case or a statutory deadline. Inmates who apply for PLU status based on a court
					 imposed deadline must show documentation from the court to verify that deadline.
					 Inmates who apply for PLU status based on a statutory deadline must identify the
					 legal rule that compels the deadline.
(2) An inmate who is represented by an attorney
					 for a case shall not be eligible for PLU status for any established court deadline
					 pertaining to that case. An inmate with attorney representation for the established
					 court deadline shall be entitled to GLU status only.
(3) Inmates shall complete and sign a CDCR Form
					 2171 (Rev. 9/09), Priority Library User (PLU) Request and Declaration, which is
					 incorporated by reference, to apply for PLU status. The Form 2171 shall include
					 check boxes for inmates to designate their established court deadlines. The Form
					 2171 shall also include a check box for inmates to confirm that they do not have
					 attorney representation for their listed deadline.
(4) Except under extraordinary circumstances
					 beyond staff control, law library staff shall have seven calendar days after receipt
					 of the completed and signed Form 2171 to process an inmate's application for PLU
					 status and make a decision to approve or disapprove the application. Staff members
					 who disapprove an inmate's application shall provide the reasons for their
					 disapproval on the form and shall provide a copy of that document to the
					 inmate.
(5) An inmate who is found to
					 have provided false information on his or her application for PLU status shall be
					 guilty of an administrative rule violation and shall not be able to obtain PLU
					 status based on that application.
(6) An
					 inmate may receive PLU status within 30 calendar days of his or her established
					 court deadline unless the inmate can demonstrate need for a longer period of PLU
					 status based on extraordinary circumstances beyond the inmate's control.
(7) PLU status is intended to assist inmates to do
					 legal work in a quiet law library setting. An inmate on PLU status who, while in the
					 law library, is observed by staff to act in an unreasonably disruptive manner or to
					 engage in non-legal work shall be removed from the PLU list and shall be dismissed
					 from the library for that day. Inmates who are removed from the PLU list for these
					 reasons shall be ineligible to reapply for PLU status for 30 calendar days, but may
					 continue to use the law library on GLU status.