DIGNITY DEFENDERS LEGAL ADVOCACY PROGRAM
PLAN challenges unconstitutional and dignity-denying conditions of confinement in U.S. adult prisons and jails by providing direct legal advocacy and working to forge new precedent in the area of dignity rights law.
Legal Services & Support For Incarcerated Individuals
PLAN provides direct advocacy and other legal services and support to incarcerated individuals who are challenging unconstitutional or dignity-denying conditions of confinement in U.S. adult prisons and jails. In some cases, PLAN convenes legal response teams to investigate prisoners' allegations regarding their conditions and provide legal advocacy to seek corrective action. In others, PLAN may develop or provide legal resource materials that are responsive to presenting issues to aid jailhouse lawyers, prison paralegals, or pro se litigants in their advocacy efforts.
Dignity Rights Law Practice Guides & Litigation Assistance
For Prisoners' Rights Litigators & Jurists
PLAN has partnered with Professor of Law Erin Daly and the world’s first Dignity Rights Law Clinic at Widener University Delaware Law School to develop a Know Your Rights Source Book to support the rights of presently and formerly incarcerated voters, as well as Dignity Rights Law Practice Guides and litigation assistance for prisoners' rights advocates, litigators, and jurists. Co-published by the Clinic and PLAN, Dignity in the Criminal Legal System: A Handbook for Advocacy, Litigation, and Reform will be released in September 2022). Dignity Defenders is also publishing Dignity Rights Law Practice Guides and litigation assistance for attorneys in the prisoners’ rights bar who are working to protect incarcerated individuals' rights to human dignity. Current Dignity Defenders casework includes prisoners’ rights litigation brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware, which includes alleged violations of incarcerated individuals’ dignity rights.
Impact Achieved By Past PLAN Initiatives
PLAN’s legal advocacy achieves favorable outcomes for incarcerated individuals and raises public awareness of unconstitutional and dignity-denying conditions in U.S. prisons and jails. PLAN’s advocacy has been featured in The Nation, PBS NewsHour, Slate, CNN, and in a number of other national and local news outlets. PLAN also presents Continuing Legal Education programs for members of the prisoners’ rights bar and delivers presentations at academic and other conferences.
Pro Bono Opportunities: Become A Dignity Defender
Attorneys, paralegals, and investigators who would like to learn more about pro bono opportunities for practitioners in the Dignity Defenders Legal Advocacy Program may contact PLAN Supervising Attorney Stanley Holdorf.
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