Question

Which of the following was not one of the ways the prison litigation reform act attempted to reduce the number of petitions filed by inmates claiming civil rights violations?

Option 1: Limiting attorney fees.
Option 2: Imposing filing fees for lawsuits.
Option 3: Expanding access to legal resources.
Option 4: Placing restrictions on inmate grievances.

Answer 1

The Prison Litigation Reform Act aimed to decrease frivolous inmate lawsuits by limiting attorney fees, imposing filing fees, and restricting inmate grievances. The option that was not a method used by the PLRA to reduce filings was expanding access to legal resources.

Step-by-step explanation:

The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) was enacted to reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits filed by inmates. Among the measures included in the PLRA to achieve this goal were:

• Limiting attorney fees to lower the incentives for attorneys to take on non-meritorious cases.
• Imposing filing fees for inmate lawsuits to discourage inmates from filing insubstantial claims.
• Placing restrictions on inmate grievances by mandating that inmates must exhaust internal prison grievance procedures before turning to federal court.

However, the option that was not one of the ways the PLRA attempted to reduce the number of petitions was expanding access to legal resources, which could potentially encourage more filings rather than limit them.