A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual
A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual ("the "JLM"") is a resource for incarcerated individuals and jailhouse lawyers. It is published and distributed by the editors of the "Columbia Human Rights Law Review", who are students at Columbia Law School. The "JLM" is designed to assist inmates in understanding their legal rights as prisoners. It contains information about how to challenge convictions and sentences, the rights of the incarcerated, and different ways to obtain an early release from prison. History and content. Founded in 1978, the eleventh and most recent edition of the "JLM" was published in  2017. A Spanish-language translation of the fifth edition of the "JLM" (""SJLM"") was produced, but is now out of date; the "JLM" is working to release an updated "SJLM" within the next two years. The book also has a section about human rights law. Supplements. In addition to the main manual, the "JLM" produces specific supplements for the following states: The "JLM" is working to produce supplements for other states as well. The "JLM" also publishes an Immigration and Consular Access Supplement in both English and Spanish. Cost. Each year, over one thousand copies of the "JLM" are sent  to prisoners, as well as to prisons and jails, libraries, and other organizations that work in the criminal justice field. For prisoners or their families, the cost of the "JLM" is $30; for institutions, the cost is $105. The "JLM" order form lists the cost to order the various publications, as well as instructions on how to place an order. A full copy of the "JLM", separated by chapter, is available for free viewing on the "JLM"'s website. Reception. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Thurgood Marshall wrote in a 1992 forward to  the "JLM" that "[b]y making difficult and sensitive legal issues accessible to the lay person, the manual helps to empower prisoners to exercise a right we, as a society, hold dear—the right to speak for oneself. I commend Columbia's law students for publishing so comprehensive and insightful a manual. "A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual" should be read by everyone involved in, or concerned about, prisoners' rights."