Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM OPINION FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW BUCKLO, District Judge. In Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 97 S.Ct. 1491, 52 L.Ed.2d 72 (1977), the Supreme Court reiterated that prisoners “beyond doubt ... have a constitutional right of access to the courts.” Id. at 821, 97 S.Ct. at 1494. The Court in Bounds held that prisons must provide inmates with adequate law libraries or “adequate assistance from persons trained in the law” for this right to be meaningful. Id. at 828, 97 S.Ct. at 1498. This case presents the question of whether the Illinois Department of Corrections can satisfy its constitutional obligation to provide meaningful access to the courts to inmates in segregation in maximum security prisons who have no direct access to library books, and at least one third of whom are unable to read or comprehend legal materials, through what is essentially a runner system by which inmates are provided books and materials at their request. Plaintiffs Terrell Walters and Joseph Gan-ci brought this class action against Illinois state officials alleging that inmates in segregation in Illinois maximum security correctional facilities are not allowed access to any prison library and that the inmate law clerk system employed in lieu of library access denies plaintiffs reasonable access to the courts in violation of their constitutional rights. Judge James Moran, to whom this ease was assigned originally, certified a class consisting of all persons who are presently or will be in segregation in the maximum security facilities of the Illinois Department of Corrections. The case was later assigned to me. The trial in this ease involved many witnesses from all five Illinois maximum security institutions as well as other officials from the Illinois Department of Corrections, non-employees, including experts in various fields and former officials, and inmates. Each side introduced hundreds of exhibits. The transcript covers some 6,000 pages. Following trial, the parties prepared proposed findings as well as supplemental briefs on various issues. There have been numerous supplemental hearings with regard to the evidence. The parties have also submitted additional evidence in response to questions raised during the trial and hearings, and during my consideration of the evidence. This opinion constitutes my findings of fact and conclusions of law. For the most part, the evidence as to each institution will be considered separately. While the institutions have in common the fact that, as plaintiffs allege, no prisoner in segregation is allowed direct access to any library, there are numerous differences with respect to the substitute system in effect at each institution. Although each utilizes inmate law clerks to help prisoners, there are major differences in terms of the number of inmate law clerks assigned to help inmates in segregation and the type of help they provide. At two of the institutions in this case, Joliet and Pontiac Correctional Centers, the evidence showed that inmates are unable to be assured of acquiring materials such as copies of cases despite changes made by defendants during the long course of this case. At both of these institutions, and at Menard Correctional Center, defendants failed to demonstrate that inmates who need assistance in preparing complaints or other pleadings will be provided that help. The evidence also showed that one third or more of the inmates in any Illinois prison are illiterate and unable to understand legal materials, and would be incapable without assistance of preparing a complaint that could withstand a motion to dismiss. I conclude that defendants are not providing inmates in segregation at Menard, Joliet or Pontiac Correctional Centers with reasonable access to the courts. FINDINGS OF FACT The Plaintiff Class 1. The class certified by Judge Moran in 1985 consisted of all persons who are presently or will be in segregation in the maximum security facilities of the Illinois Department of Corrections. Persons in segregation status include not only inmates sentenced or “assigned” to terms in segregation and who are in the segregation units of the various prison facilities, but also persons detained in segregation during an “investigation” into whether they have violated rules of the Department of Corrections and persons in segregation status who are physically confined in cells outside the segregation unit because of overcrowding. 2. After this ease was reassigned to me, defendants sought modification of the class, arguing that prisoners with short stays in segregation would at most suffer a de minimis denial of their right of access to the courts. I agreed with defendants that a de minimis denial of access to the courts had not been accorded constitutional protection under prevailing authority and proposed a tentative modification of the class to exclude such inmates, inviting responses from the parties. Plaintiffs responded, noting various problems with the proposed modification. I have concluded that modification would be practically impossible to manage. The evidence has shown that defendants’ calculations of the time an inmate spends in segregation are not reliable. Furthermore, an attempt to limit the class to persons who were in, or expected to be in, segregation status for a specific period of time — for instance, 90 days — would require that prison personnel continually monitor such sentences for this specific purpose. Finally, as discussed below, the evidence indicates that, at least in the men’s prisons, 85 percent of inmates placed in segregation remain there for 90 days or longer. Thus, the class will remain as it was originally certified by Judge Moran. 3. The male members of the class in this case are imprisoned at the Joliet Correctional Center, located in Joliet, Illinois; Stateville Correctional Center, also located in Joliet, Illinois; Pontiac Correctional Center, located in Pontiac, Illinois; and Menard Correctional Center, located in Chester, Illinois. 4. Each of these four institutions is classified as a maximum security prison, meaning that the inmates confined at these institutions are generally those who have been convicted of more serious offenses or have committed serious rule infractions since being confined. 5. The female members of the class are imprisoned at the Dwight Correctional Center, located in Dwight, Illinois. At the time this class was certified on August 8, 1985, Dwight contained minimum, medium, as well as maximum security units. 6. A few weeks before trial of this case commenced, the Illinois Department of Corrections established a minimum security institution for women at Kankakee, Illinois, and was gradually transferring women from Dwight to this new facility. In addition, some women in medium security classifications have been transferred from Dwight to Logan and Dixon Correctional Centers. The Defendants 7. For purposes of injunctive and declaratory relief, the defendants are all sued in their official capacities. Plaintiffs’ claims are therefore treated as claims against the State of Illinois. For simplicity, defendants will sometimes be referred to’ jointly as the “DOC.” Gangs 8. Richard Gramley, the Warden at Pontiac Correctional Center, testified that 80 percent of the inmates in Pontiac were gang-affiliated. Salvador Godinez, the Warden at Stateville Correctional Center, estimated that 95 percent of the inmates at Stateville were gang-affiliated. Gang members are allowed to hold jobs and a substantial portion of the inmates in segregation are gang members. Warden Gramley testified that he would not be surprised if inmates assigned to the law library were gang members and that there are no screening procedures in place to determine whether inmate law clerks are in fact gang-affiliated. Despite these facts, the evidence did not show that gang affiliation plays a part in the decisions of inmate law clerks to provide materials or assistance to an inmate. There was also no evidence to the contrary. There was evidence that at least one of the named plaintiffs is gang-affiliated, and it may be assumed that most of the inmates who testified have some gang affiliation in light of the substantial percentages of inmate gang affiliations noted by the wardens in this case. The problem of gang affiliation is relevant to the need for supervision of inmate law clerks and the need for procedures to ensure that any inmate requesting assistance has access to lay personnel as well as inmates. Confinement of Inmates To Segregation 9. Segregation is a “jail within a jail.” Inmates are confined to segregation when they violate DOC disciplinary rules, which may range from infractions such as insolence to a correctional officer to serious violent offenses such as physical attacks on guards or other inmates. The purpose of segregation is threefold: to separate the inmates, to punish the inmates, and to deter other inmates. 10. An inmate charged with violating a disciplinary rule is served with a Disciplinary Report, which states the alleged violation. The charge is then heard by the Institutional Adjustment Committee, the members of which are DOC employees. The Committee recommends a punishment, which may include demotion in grade (ie., deprivation of certain privileges such as commissary, use of the telephone, etc.), loss of “good-time” (which has the effect of lengthening an inmate’s period of incarceration), and confinement to segregation for a maximum period of one year. The Adjustment Committee’s recommendations as to punishment are subject to approval by the warden of the institution in which the inmate is confined, and can be appealed through an administrative appeal process and ultimately to court. 11. Inmates may be confined to segregation in other circumstances as well. For example, inmates charged with an offense are typically placed in segregation immediately. The Adjustment Committee hearing is held and determination of innocence or guilt is made later. Inmates who have not been charged with any rule violation may also be confined to segregation while an investigation of an incident is pending. 12. Although an inmate may be sentenced to a maximum of one year in segregation for one incident, the inmate may be sentenced to time exceeding one year for separate incidents that occur either before the inmate is placed in segregation or for misconduct taking place while the inmate is in segregation. 13. In an attempt to determine the average length of time an inmate spends in segregation, the parties agreed that defendants would make a random sample of 132 men. Analysis of the sample showed that when separate but continuous segregation assignments were added, 43 of the 132 men, or 32 percent, had served a continuous stretch of at least one year in segregation; 105, or 80 percent, had served more than six conseeu-tive months in segregation; 112, or 85 percent, had served more than 90 days in segregation; and 119, or 90 percent, of the men had served a continuous sentence of at least 60 days in segregation. 14. The uncontradicted testimony at trial, supported by defendants’ own exhibits, demonstrates that lengthy stays exceeding one year in segregation are not uncommon. 15. Defendants’ Exhibit 158 contains a summary of the Disciplinary Reports received by the named plaintiff, Mr. Walters, between November 9, 1976 and October 23, 1989. During this 13-year period, Mr. Walters appears to have been confined to segregation the entire tíme, being sentenced to a total of over 80 years of consecutive segregation confinement. However, the maximum sentence on any single Disciplinary Report is one year, and the majority of Mr. Walters’ sentences are from 15 to 90 days in length. Therefore, on defendants’ report, this 80-year term would be listed as a series of different sentences averaging approximately six months in length. 16. Mr. Spurlock testified that he was placed in West Segregation at Joliet in December, 1989. Three months later, in March, 1990, he was placed in North Segregation at Joliet, where he remained until he was released from segregation in early September, 1990. In late September, 1990, he was returned to North Segregation at Joliet, where he remained until he was transferred to the segregation unit at Pontiac on January 9, 1991. Mr. Spurlock remained in segregation at Pontiac through the time he testified, approximately one year later. Therefore, in the three-year period between December, 1989 and January, 1992, when he testified, Mr. Spurlock was confined to segregation for all but a few weeks in September, 1990. 17. These individual examples of lengthy segregation sentences are confirmed by the testimony of defendants’ witnesses. For example, Ms. Wagh, the librarian at Joliet Correctional Center, testified that there was a low turnover of inmates in the West Segregation Unit at Joliet. Assistant Warden Fleming testified that more than half of the inmates in the segregation unit at Stateville had been confined to segregation for more than 90 days. Representation by Counsel 18. Defendants do not provide inmates in segregation with attorneys to assist them in presenting claims to the courts. 19. While certain private groups occasionally represent inmates, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago and Chicago Legal Aid to Incarcerated Mothers (“CLAIM”), none of these groups, with the exception of CLAIM (discussed in the section on Dwight Correctional Center), sends lawyers on a regular basis to any of the five institutions at issue in this case to render legal services either to the general population or to inmates confined to segregation. Each group takes only a few select cases of systemic impact. For example, the paralegal at Dwight testified that, although the library refers inmates to outside lawyers for assistance, she was not aware of any inmate who had actually received assistance from any of these groups. 20. While a number of defendants’ witnesses emphasized that inmates in segregation were permitted (at least occasionally) to use the telephone or the mails to contact private attorneys in order to gain assistance in presenting their claims to the courts, defendants did not present any evidence indicating that the typical inmate in segregation has the resources required to hire a private attorney, nor is there any evidence in the record suggesting that the private bar has made any commitment to provide inmates in segregation with pro bono assistance. 21. Federal cases filed by members of the plaintiff class are assigned to the U.S. district courts for the Northern, Central, and Southern Districts of Illinois. The Northern District has established procedures for screening inmate claims and, in appropriate cases, appointing attorneys to represent inmates who have filed claims pro se. The evidence establishes that the appointment procedure is of limited use to many inmates in segregation seeking to present a claim. First, a court can appoint an attorney, by definition, only if an inmate has sufficient skills and knowledge to file an action in the federal courts in the first instance. An inmate who lacks the skills or knowledge to formulate a legal claim in the first instance will never be able to file a claim in court and thus will have no opportunity to obtain a court-appointed lawyer. Second, Dale Hayes, the coordinator for prison litigation in the United States District Court in Chicago, testified that most judges appoint an attorney to represent an inmate only after the court makes an initial determination that the prisoner’s claim has substantial merit. In practice, that means that the inmate’s claim must survive a motion to dismiss and, in some eases, a motion for summary judgment before counsel will be appointed. Mr. Hayes testified that attorneys are appointed for only five percent of all cases filed by inmates. 22. Terrence Madsen, an Assistant Attorney General who testified for defendants, stated that counsel is appointed for inmates who file post-conviction petitions in state court only after the petition survives the State’s motion to dismiss. Mr. Madsen further testified that the most common failing of inmates was not setting forth the facts with sufficient specificity and not attaching an affidavit, as required by statute. Responsibility for Library Services 23. At the time this ease was filed, defendants had entered into an agreement with the Secretary of State’s office (who also holds the position of State Librarian) to operate the libraries in each of the five institutions at issue in this case. The Secretary of State, in turn, had contracted with regional library systems to provide the services. 24. In 1984, the Department of Corrections assumed partial responsibility for operation of law libraries at each of these prisons. Whereas previously the inmate clerks were employed and supervised by the independent library systems, beginning in 1984 the clerks were paid and supervised directly by DOC personnel. 25. In July, 1989, the defendants terminated all involvement by the independent library systems in the operation of the prison libraries. At that time, the defendants assumed direct economic and supervisory responsibility for all library staff (including both inmate clerks and civilian employees) and for all supplies, purchases, etc. The DOC’s direct responsibility for the law libraries continues to the present. Literacy 26. According to a report from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, 72.3 percent of male Illinois DOC inmates have not graduated from high school. TRENDS AND Issues 91 at 88. 27. Alice Jones, a policy analyst at the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, a state agency, testified regarding the literacy levels of inmates in the Illinois DOC. She stated that, in 1990, the DOC gave 13,-803 inmates the Test of Adult Basic Education (“TABE”), which measures basic reading and math skills. Approximately 4,000 inmates (29%) scored below the sixth grade level. The average score of DOC inmates for which test scores were available at the time of trial was eighth grade, one month. 28. Inmates who score below the sixth grade level on the TABE are encouraged to participate in a 90-day basic literacy program that emphasizes reading and mathematics. Of the inmates who retook the test after 45 days of instruction, 54.7 percent scored at the sixth grade level or above. 32 percent of those who retook the exam after 90 days of instruction scored at the sixth grade level or higher. Not all inmates retake the test. 1,228 inmates retook the test during 1990. Of these, fewer than half scored at or above the sixth grade level. PX 126, supra, Trends and Issues 91, p. 110. 29. Dr. Joanne Carlisle, a professor in the Department of Communications Sciences and Disorders at Northwestern University, testified as a literacy expert. Professor Car-lisle graduated from Vassar College with a degree in English. She has a master’s degree in educational psychology with a specialization in special education and learning disabilities, and a Ph.D. in learning disabilities from the University of Connecticut. 30. Dr. Carlisle testified that it was unlikely that a person who tested below the sixth grade in reading ability would undergo a significant overall change in reading ability in a 90-day reading course. The report of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, PX 126, Trends and Issues 91, supports this opinion. That report noted that more inmates retaking the TABE after 45 days received scores of sixth grade or higher than those taking the test after 90 days and concluded that the first group might have come close to passing the first time, whereas inmates remaining in the program for the full 90 days might have had more serious deficiencies. Id. at 110. 31. Dr. Carlisle testified that a person’s reading ability is measured by the level of difficulty of text that he can read. The difficulty of a passage is a function of several variables. Among those variables is the vocabulary used, the grammatical structure of the passage and the knowledge base required to understand the passage. Dr. Carlisle testified that, in order to advance beyond a functional literacy stage, a reader must have acquired critical reading skills, such as the ability to evaluate text, interpret text, make inferences on the basis of statement in text, and draw conclusions from information in text. These critical reading skills generally begin to appear as individuals develop high school level reading skills. 32. Dr. Carlisle testified that there are various, well-accepted formulas that are accurate for establishing the readability of text. The readability, or difficulty, of text is identified by assigning it a grade level. For example, text that has a third grade difficulty is text that an average third grader could understand. 33. A driver’s manual would often be written at about a sixth grade level, as would easier articles in magazines such as Reader’s Digest. Most magazines are written at about a tenth or eleventh grade level. The New YORK Times and other nationally-ranked newspapers are written at about an eleventh grade level, while most local newspapers are written at a lower level. 34. Dr. Carlisle used the Fry, Dale-Chall and Raygor formulas to perform a readability analysis on several items of legal material that inmates would typically use in attempting to access the courts: the section of the Illinois statutes that relates to post-eonviction remedies; Rule 8 of the FEDERAL Rules of Civil Prooedure; excerpts from Bounds v. Smith, supra; Duckworth v. Franzen, 780 F.2d 645 (7th Cir.1985); and the PRISONER’S Self-Help Litigation Manual. All of the passages analyzed required at least an eleventh grade reading ability and some of the tested passages required a college graduate reading ability. For example, the headnote summary of Duckworth v. Franzen required graduate level reading ability. The fact section of that case required an eleventh grade level. The Illinois statute dealing with post-conviction hearings tested at college or post-college graduate level. 35. Dr. Carlisle testified that a person with an eighth grade reading ability and a high degree of motivation might be able to understand the tested materials better than she would normally predict. However, she thought that a person with a sixth grade reading level would be unable to comprehend the materials tested regardless of their level of motivation. She also testified that a person at an eighth grade level of reading ability might think that he understands materials when he does not, or might comprehend only part of material intended for persons at a higher literacy level. In general, it is only at higher literacy levels — at the high school level and beyond — that people develop critical reading skills, that is, the ability to evaluate and interpret text, and to make inferences and draw conclusions on the basis of statements and information in text. 36. The testimony of several individuals confirmed that literacy levels are a problem in the institutions involved in this case. A paralegal at Dwight, for example, testified that some inmates were unable to understand mailing instructions. An inmate law clerk at Dwight, a defense witness, testified that inmates often did not understand the step-by-step “fill in the blank” instructions and form used to file a Section 1983 action in federal court. She also testified that some of the inmates did not even have the capacity to understand a form requesting appointment of counsel. 37. Dr. Carlisle’s analysis is consistent with the testimony of many of the inmates who were confined to segregation. Those inmates testified that, when they were given eases by inmate clerks, they could read the words, but they were unable to determine how these cases applied to their situations or how they could be used to present a claim to the courts. 38. Finally, virtually every inmate clerk who testified at trial stated that inmates in segregation regularly requested their assistance for such easy tasks as filing a grievance or completing some of the simpler forms available in the library. Many of the clerks testified that some of the inmates in segregation could not even fill out the straightforward request forms (e.g., DX 37) to request supplies or copies and that the inmate clerks had to complete these forms for them. 39. Based on my analysis of the expert testimony and the testimony of the civilian DOC employees and inmates, I conclude that the average inmate in segregation is unable to make meaningful use of the typical reported court opinion and would have great difficulty making meaningful use of the PRISONER’S Self-Help Litigation Manual without assistance. Furthermore, plaintiffs have shown that at least one third of the inmates in segregation — those reading at the sixth grade level or below and many of those reading at the eighth grade level — -would be unable to obtain meaningful access to the courts ■without assistance. Inmate Clerk Training 40. In the months immediately preceding commencement of the first trial of this ease, defendants contacted Dr. Thomas Eimer-mann, who had founded the Paralegal Training Program at Illinois State University. Defendants contracted with Dr. Eimermann to prepare a curriculum which would be used in the maximum security institutions to train inmates to become inmate clerks. Dr. Eim-ermann prepared a curriculum consisting of 48 sessions covering a wide variety of topics ranging from the basics of legal research to constitutional law, prisoners’ rights, torts, and other topics. 41. Defendants subsequently hired and placed paralegals at each of the institutions involved in this ease and had them teach Dr. Eimermann’s course to inmate law clerks. 42. Many of the inmates who graduated from Dr. Eimermann’s course did not work as clerks. In some instances, inmates took the course without any intention of working as a clerk but were concerned solely with obtaining assistance for their own personal cases. Thea Chesley, the Department of Corrections official who had overall responsibility for the law libraries, also advised Dr. Eimermann that an inmate clerk’s pay was too low in comparison with other jobs available to inmates and that many inmates therefore chose other jobs, even after completing the course. In other cases, inmates were transferred to another institution before they were able to begin work (or, in some eases, before finishing the course). 43. Dr. Eimermann’s consulting contract with the DOC terminated in July, 1989. At about that time, the DOC transferred responsibility for the ongoing training of inmate clerks from DOC personnel to local junior colleges. 44. Although the evidence was inconclusive, it appears that the junior college teachers were sometimes provided with a copy of the Eimermann curriculum but followed only part of his outline. The course omitted, at least sometimes, segments specifically targeted at inmates’ rights and the administrative and due process procedures available to inmates to challenge disciplinary proceedings and other violations of their, rights. 45. Defendants did not call as witnesses any teachers or inmates who either were currently enrolled in or had completed the course. The only instructor in the college courses to testify, James Barford, testified that inmates, after completing the course, could not reasonably advise inmates in segregation of their legal options. 46. Defendants have not provided any ongoing training for inmate clerks. As discussed below, defendants have not required law clerks to take or pass any course before undertaking the duties of a law clerk. Changes Made During Trial 47. During or immediately before trial, defendants instituted numerous changes, in particular, hiring numerous additional law clerks. The changes made by defendants under these circumstances can be given little weight, especially in light of the fact that this case had been pending for several years before trial and the fact that ■Bounds had explicitly required defendants to provide assistance in lieu of direct access to a law library more than one decade earlier. It seems clear that many changes were made by defendants solely to improve the trial record. Having heard the evidence, I find that there is no reason to believe that any improvement made by defendants under these circumstances will not be changed back after this case is closed. See, e.g., Gluth v. Kangas, 951 F.2d 1504, 1507 (9th Cir.1991). It “cannot be said ‘with assurance’ that there is no ‘reasonable expectation’ that the alleged violations will recur.” Id. (quoting from Lindquist v. Idaho State Bd. of Corrections, 776 F.2d 851, 854 (9th Cir.1985)). Credibility 48. My conclusions with respect to plaintiffs’ access to the courts at each of these institutions are based in part on my judgments of the credibility of various witnesses. There were too many witnesses over the course of the long trial in this case for me to comment on the credibility of each witness. I have, however, considered the credibility of every witness in reaching my conclusions. Joliet Correctional Center General Background 49. There are 1350 inmates at Joliet Correctional Center (“Joliet”). Approximately 90 to 100 of these inmates are housed in two segregation units. The North segregation unit is located in a free-standing building. The building has two floors, each of which contains ten cells. Some of the inmates are double-celled; accordingly, the unit holds between 20 and 30 inmates. 50.' The doors on segregation cells in the North unit are made of solid steel. Near the top of the doors is a six-inch viewing panel. Within the viewing panel is a mesh voice panel through which the inmate can communicate with someone outside the cell. In the middle of the door is a 14" by 8" hinged opening referred to as a ehuckhole, which is kept locked. Legal materials, food and other items can be passed through the ehuckhole when a lieutenant is present to unlock it. There is a ventilation panel near the bottom of the door. When a lieutenant is not present, the law clerks pass legal materials into the cell through the one-inch gap at the bottom of the door, if the materials are small enough. 51. The West segregation unit is housed in the West cellhouse. There are 40 double cells in the unit, two of which are used for showers and one of which is used for medical examinations. The cell doors in West segregation are made of steel bars and it is possible to pass items back and forth between the bars. There are approximately 60 to 70 inmates housed in the West segregation unit. 52. The segregation inmates are not allowed to participate in educational courses, to go to the library, or to check out law books from the law library. They eat and shower on the unit. When a segregation inmate is transported from the segregation unit to the health care unit or the visiting room, he is shackled and wears a waist belt that allows the escorting correctional officer to control his movements. Segregation prisoners are always escorted on and off the unit by security officers one-on-one. 53. To transport a segregation inmate to the library, a security officer would have to restrain the inmate as described above and bring him to the library. The library is not designed to confine and restrict movement as is the segregation unit. There is one study cell in the library that is not used. 54. From July 13, 1991 through August 11, 1991, Joliet was on lockdown and no inmate law clerks went to the segregation unit. The Law Library 55. The law library subscribes to all of the essential state and federal statutes and case reporters. It contains digests, form books, legal treatises, and legal encyclopedias and dictionaries. Missing volumes, however, are replaced only once a year. Chapter 38 of the Illinois Statutes, which contains the Criminal Code, and the volume containing 42 U.S.C. § 1983 are lost or stolen every year. Copies of material from missing volumes can be obtained by an interlibrary loan from the DOC’s School District Library Services. It takes approximately ten days from the time the Joliet librarian makes a request to obtain the materials. 56. The library keeps many legal forms available for use by inmates. Examples include forms for Section 1983 complaints, petitions for habeas corpus, petitions for executive clemency and motions for a new trial. A list of the forms is available in the library. However, this list was compiled only two months before the trial of this case began, and it is not clear that the list is given to segregation inmates. If it is, it is provided only on request. It is not clear whether inmates are informed of the existence of such a list unless they ask. 57. The library makes available an “appeal package” that contains a notice of appeal, an affidavit of service, a certificate of service and mailing, a motion for appointment of counsel, and a motion to proceed in forma pauperis. 58. The library also keeps a list of all of the titles maintained in the legal collection. However, there was no testimony that this list is distributed to segregation inmates by request or as a matter of course. Civilian Librarian 59. Suluha Swati Wagh was the librarian at Joliet from May 8, 1988 until early 1992. Ms. Wagh graduated from the University of Alabama in 1988 with a master’s degree in library science. Her only legal training consists of a course in government documents and two legal training seminars offered by the DOC. 60. Ms. Wagh had supervisory authority over the entire library, including the law clerks. When there was no paralegal, Ms. Wagh cheeked the law clerks’ work to ensure that it matched the segregation inmates’ requests. 61. Ms. Wagh testified that she was not trained to and did not give legal advice. She testified that she relied upon the law clerks to give legal advice. Civilian Paralegal 62. Over the last few years, Joliet has had difficulty in keeping the civilian paralegal position filled. In 1990, the paralegal was Ms. Wolstein. Ms. Wolstein resigned in December, 1991, after she was threatened with physical harm by a segregation inmate. On February 26, 1992, she was replaced by Derrick Johnson, who quit two or three weeks later. In April, 1992, Julie Terlep, who had recently been hired as the paralegal at Dwight, was temporarily assigned to Joliet. Ms. Terlep was replaced with Patty Torres, who became the paralegal near the end of trial. Inmate Law Clerks 63. During part of the trial in this case, Joliet had one inmate law clerk. The law clerk, Raymond Green, has a GED certificate and takes college courses as an inmate from Lewis University. A second inmate law clerk, James Newsome, was terminated from this job after three weeks. An assistant warden testified that Joliet planned to hire more law clerks, but she did not know when. The law clerk or clerks serve 1,350 inmates. 64. Joliet does not require that the inmate law clerks pass the Paralegalism I and II courses taught by Lewis University before they are hired. Inmate clerk Zavorski was put to work without receiving any legal training. Mr. Zavorski worked as a law clerk for six months in 1990. He testified that, when he started working as a law clerk, he was given no guidance on how to assist the inmates and no criteria as to the kinds of cases on which he should help. An experienced clerk was not assigned to give him assistance or instruction. 65. Some law clerks attended the parale-galism training course prior to or during their employment as law clerks. One such clerk was Wilbert Blanch. Although Mr. Blanch had passed both Paralegalism I and II, Ms. Wagh terminated him soon after he was hired because he was unable even to read a legal citation. 66. Lewis University’s “Site Coordinator” at Joliet, Nathaniel Richards, is responsible for the college academic programs at Joliet. He was not familiar with Dr. Eimermann’s course outline, which the courses were supposed to follow. He testified that the course actually taught did not include prisoners’ rights in its syllabus. 67. When there was more than one law clerk and library staff, the law clerk would visit the segregation wings accompanied by the paralegal or librarian at 1:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He would return to the library, which closes between 2:30 and 2:45 p.m., at approximately 2:30 p.m. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the law clerk was scheduled to fill segregation requests. However, inmates from the East cellhouse have access to the library during that time and require assistance. 68. Ms. Wagh testified that she directed inmate law clerks to give priority to the segregation inmates’ needs. She also testified that the law clerks had four hours per day, four days per week, to work on the segregation requests. It is clear that, even when there was more than one law clerk, the law clerks did not have four hours per day to devote to the segregation inmates’ needs. Even if Ms. Wagh did instruct the law clerks to give priority to segregation inmates, the reality is that while the clerks are in the library there are always other inmates using the facilities and seeking assistance from the few available law clerks. 69. When the law clerk is on the segregation unit, he distributes and collects legal request forms and delivers previously requested materials. Mr. Zavorski testified that, as a law clerk, he would stop and try to answer inmates’ questions verbally while he was collecting their request forms. However, because of time constraints, Mr. Zavorski was usually only able to get halfway down the line of cells before he was forced to leave the unit. Mr. Zavorski stated that the officers required the law clerk to be off the unit during shift change, which occurred between 2:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. He also testified that he had complained that he was not given enough time on the unit to see all those who needed help and that he requested permission to go to the segregation unit earlier, but the schedule was not changed. 70. When visiting the segregation unit, the law clerk does not have time for in-depth interviews with inmates that would enable him to prepare substantive legal documents such as complaints or petitions. In addition, a prison officer is often nearby, thus making the transmission of any confidential information difficult. 71. Edna Lee, Assistant Warden of Programs at Joliet, testified that, if a segregation inmate informed a librarian or paralegal that he had violated a prison rule, the librarian or paralegal would have to report what the inmate said in a disciplinary ticket. 72. The ability of segregation inmates to communicate with the law clerk is further hampered by the generally loud noise conditions on the segregation unit. In the West segregation unit, this is particularly a problem because the doors are barred and the noise from the inmates and their radios and televisions make it difficult to hear. 73. A segregation inmate can receive photocopies of any material in the library for five cents per page. If an inmate has no money in his trust account, he is provided copies of the requested material and his account is debited when he has the money. If an inmate returns copies of cases, he is not charged. However, in order to see a case, an inmate must first sign a voucher authorizing payment from his inmate account. 74. Mr. Zavorski testified that, as a law clerk, he did not draft any Section 1983 complaints, habeas corpus petitions, post-conviction complaints, or any pleadings for any inmate in segregation because he did not know how to draft these documents. Mr. Green testified that, during his three stints as a law clerk, he received many requests for drafting assistance but had also never drafted pleadings because he did not have enough time to do so. This testimony is supported by the evidence. The request forms for legal assistance used at Joliet do not include a space where substantive legal assistance might be requested, and my own review of the library’s responses to requests over a three-year period did not indicate that any drafting assistance was provided. In addition, the sheer volume of requests for materials and the paucity.of law clerks and other staff would not have allowed even an accomplished attorney to write briefs or draft materials in the available time. 75. Defendants claim that they rely on volunteers and “jailhouse lawyers,” ie., inmates who are not law clerks, to supplement their system of law clerk assistance. I found no credible evidence that any other inmate provided assistance to prisoners in segregation or otherwise. In addition, a regular inmate is not allowed to go to segregation to discuss a segregation inmate’s legal problems. Pontiac Correctional Center General Background 76. Pontiac Correctional Center (“Pontiac”) is a maximum security institution operated by the Illinois DOC, located in Pontiac, Illinois. There were approximately 1,930 inmates at Pontiac at the time of the trial. There are approximately 265 inmates in segregation at Pontiac at any given time. Pontiac Law Library 77. Segregation inmates at Pontiac are not permitted to go to the law library or even to borrow books from the law library. The Pontiac law library contains a single study cage, but inmates from segregation are not allowed to use it. 78. The Pontiac library contains neither the official nor the annotated version of the United States Code covering 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (although the statute is included in the PRISONERS’ Self-Help Litigation Manual). Civilian Librarian and Paralegals 79. Pontiac has one librarian, Malini Patel. The record contains no information about her, other than the fact that she supervises the paralegals. She apparently had no involvement with segregation inmates. She did not testify. 80. At the time the trial of this case began, a single civilian paralegal, John Holmes, served the Pontiac law library. In addition to his responsibilities at the maximum security prison, Mr. Holmes spent part of his time operating the law library at the medium security institution in Pontiac, Illinois, which has a separate library. 81. Mr. Holmes did not have a college degree. He completed a paralegal course sponsored by Carthage College of Kenosha, Wisconsin in the summer of 1987. This course met for approximately 72 hours and covered a wide variety of topics. Mr. Holmes did not take any tests prior to being hired. The DOC relied entirely upon the “certificate of completion” awarded by Carthage College. Mr. Holmes was hired as a paralegal in 1987. Prior to that time, he had worked in a variety of jobs, none of which were in any way related to the law. Mr. Holmes received no training in areas of particular. interest to prison inmates such as habeas corpus petitions, post-conviction remedies, Section 1983 civil rights suits, or related areas. 82. Mr..Holmes understood that he was prohibited from giving legal advice because he was not a lawyer. He understood that his responsibilities were limited to advising inmates as to basic procedural issues such as the number of copies that had to be filed with the court, the address of the clerk of the court, and the correct form or format in which a pleading should be filed. 83. At the time Mr. Holmes began working at Pontiac in 1987, he was employed by the Cornbelt Library System, which had a contract to operate the law library on behalf of the DOC. On June 30, 1989, the DOC assumed the direct operation of the law library and became Mr. Holmes’ employer. 84. Mr. Holmes was generally responsible for supervising the inmate law clerks. In addition, he had responsibility for directly servicing the condemned unit, processing all books received by the library, ordering and inserting pocket parts, updating periodicals, and all of the other recordkeeping and filing for the law library. 85. Mr. Holmes did not have the time to supervise the actual legal work done by the inmate law clerks. He did not know which cases any individual law clerk was working on. 86. Mr. Holmes had no opportunity to pursue his own continuing education, nor did he have any opportunity to deal with outside groups which provide assistance to inmates. 87. After the trial began in this case, defendants hired a second paralegal, Joni Stahlman, to serve the inmates in the maximum security prison at Pontiac. The written job description for Ms. Stahlman’s position states that a paralegal’s job does not include drafting legal documents, representing inmates, or conducting research on behalf of inmates. 88. Although the written job description requires Ms. Stahlman to provide workshops for inmates, she had never conducted any such workshops at the time of the trial. Ms. Stahlman said that she had requested that workshops be provided in which attorneys would come in and teach inmate law clerks about research, but her superiors had not approved any such workshops. 89. Ms. Stahlman, like Mr. Holmes, believed that, as a paralegal, she was not permitted to give legal advice. She also testified that the inmate clerks often know more about prisoner-related issues than she, and that, therefore, she could not meaningfully review the substance of their work. She also discourages the inmate clerks from giving legal advice because she is concerned that they are not lawyers and therefore might give incorrect advice on constitutional and other issues. 90. Ms. Stahlman did not serve the segregation inmates and had never been on the segregation unit. 91. The civilian paralegals can give only very limited assistance to either inmates or inmate clerks. For example, Ms. Stahlman testified that one of the Pontiac library forms is a “criminal complaint.” Ms. Stahlman did not know whether an inmate could initiate a criminal action in this manner. Similarly, Ms. Stahlman did not know what appeal rights an inmate might have from a finding of guilty on charges contained in a prison disciplinary ticket. 92. Ms. Stahlman had not reviewed all of the legal forms in the Pontiac library that are given to inmates. She reviewed some of them with a DOC attorney who told her that the forms did not need to be changed. 93. The law library keeps a list of attorneys, which is given to inmates. The law library does not keep a record of referrals to attorneys, and Ms. Stahlman said that she does not know whether any attorney on that list had ever taken a ease from an inmate at Pontiac. Inmate Law Clerks 94. In the time leading up to the trial of this case, there had been four law clerks at Pontiac, although sometimes there were only three. According to Mr. Holmes, the paralegal, three clerks were not adequate to serve' the legal demands placed on the law library by the 1,930 inmates at Pontiac. As a result, Mr. Holmes had been requesting permission for many months to hire additional clerks. Six weeks before the trial of this case began, defendants assigned six additional inmate clerks to the Pontiac law library. 95. There is generally a high turnover of clerks at Pontiac. As of December, 1991, only one of the nine clerks assigned to the law library, Clayton Rockman, had more than two years of experience. 96. John Reese, a Pontiac inmate, was assigned as the segregation librarian from 1985 through August, 1988. As a segregation librarian, he helped distribute general library reading materials. He did not have responsibility for providing legal assistance or legal materials to inmates in segregation. 97. • During this three-year period, there were from 250 to 265 men in segregation. More than half of those seen by Mr. Reese at one time or another asked him for legal assistance, even though providing legal assistance was not one of his responsibilities. 98. Mr. Reese later began working as an “unofficial jailhouse lawyer.” (Mr. Reese has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.) In October, 1988, Mr. Reese received a disciplinary ticket and was charged with having contraband in his cell. This “contraband” consisted of law books (Illinois and Federal Codes of Civil Procedure) and typing supplies. 99. In November, 1989, Mr. Reese received another disciplinary ticket for providing legal assistance to other inmates. He admitted that he gave such help and was found guilty by the Adjustment Committee. 100. In April, 1990, Mr. Reese applied for the position of law clerk at the Pontiac library. He was interviewed by Mr. Maus, the supervisor in charge of all library operations at Pontiac. At the interview, Mr. Maus informed Mr. Reese that he would be assigned to the library only if he refrained from filing any lawsuits against the Pontiac Correctional Center for 90 days. 101. In August, 1990, Captain Skidmore, the DOC official responsible for the supervision of the segregation unit, advised Mr. Reese that he could no longer speak to inmates who requested his assistance in segregation; he was only to deliver documents to those inmates who had submitted written requests to the library for assistance. Inmate Clerk Training 102. Mr. Holmes began teaching a paralegal course based on the Eimermann model to inmate clerks in January, 1988. Responsibility for teaching the inmate paralegal course was later transferred to MeMurray College. MeMurray College has held two different sessions of courses known as “Paralegal I” and “Paralegal II.” 103. Mark Barford, a licensed attorney, taught the paralegal course at Pontiac from January, 1992 to May, 1992. Mr. Barford testified that he did not follow the Eimer-mann course outline because he found the material to be too difficult for his students. The course was scheduled to meet from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. twice per week. In fact, many of the classes were cancelled due to lockdowns and the students regularly came to the class late, which substantially reduced the time during which the course could be taught. Mr. Barford testified that the two courses he taught were not sufficient to teach a law clerk how to file a Section 1983 civil rights case, a mandamus case, or a petition for post-conviction relief. 104. Mr. Barford’s ability to teach the course was hampered by DOC representatives. During the session, Mr. Barford attempted to teach the inmates about the various aspects of Section 1983 litigation by using as an example a grievance regarding tuberculosis which had been filed by some of the inmates in the class. Within a week of giving students an assignment based on this example, Mr. Barford was advised by Mr. Maus that the assignment created a “security problem” and was ordered to terminate the assignment. 105. There is no ongoing in-service training provided for inmate clerks. Whatever training they receive after they are hired is through on-the-job experience. Service to Inmates in Segregation 106. Inmates in segregation cannot go to the law library. Therefore, their only means of access to legal assistance is through the periodic visits of the inmate clerks to the segregation unit. 107. Prior to the hiring of six additional inmate clerks six weeks before the trial began, the clerks were supposed to go to the segregation unit three times per week. However, the library was unable to maintain any set schedule for servicing the segregation unit. Mr. Holmes, the paralegal, directed the clerks to go to segregation as often as possible. One of the inmate law clerks, Mr. Roekman, testified that the duties of the three law clerks included assisting general population inmates with their legal needs, going to the condemned unit, the protective custody unit, and both segregation units. 108. Pontiac failed to maintain any procedure for clerks or civilian personnel to sign in and out of the segregation unit. Therefore, it is impossible to determine with any precision the regularity with which library personnel actually went to segregation prior to September, 1991, when Pontiac began to keep more accurate records. DOC records for that month indicate that only one inmate law clerk went to segregation, and he only a total of five times, during the month. 109. After the assignment of six new clerks shortly before trial, Mr. Holmes requested that five of the inmate clerks be permitted to service segregation. The assistant warden responsible for programs at Pontiac refused permission. 110. Mr. Roekman is one of the three inmate clerks responsible for serving the segregation unit. When Mr. Roekman visits the segregation unit, he is subject to either a pat-down or strip-search. Warden Gramley testified that inmates going into segregation are supposed to be subjected to a strip-search either when entering or leaving the unit in order to discourage the introduction of contraband. 111. In addition to a search of the inmate clerk, the officer on duty reviews the materials the inmate clerk is bringing into the segregation unit. At least one of the officers, Officer Eddleman, not only reviews the material for contraband but reads each document and makes his own determination as to whether the document is in fact a “legal” document. Any document which Mr. Eddle-man determines, in his own judgment, is not a legal document, is taken from Mr. Rock-man and given to the captain of the segregation unit. Although defendants agreed that the officer searching the inmate is not supposed to read each page, defendants did not rebut Mr. Roekman’s testimony regarding Officer Eddleman’s review of materials. 112. After entering the unit, the inmate clerk walks down one of the galleries in the unit. In order to reduce the number of inmates who request assistance, Mr. Rock-man does not announce or otherwise advise inmates that a clerk is present. He delivers material to individual inmates who previously have filed requests, and stops to talk with those inmates requesting assistance that he has time to see. 113. Of the 50 inmates on each gallery, Mr. Roekman sees approximately 10 to 15 inmates on each visit. On a typical visit, Mr. Roekman receives five to ten requests from segregation inmates to which he is unable to respond. 114. The Pontiac paralegals and law clerks do not keep records of requests for substantive assistance. There are no procedures or criteria governing which inmates will be given substantive assistance. Mr. Holmes testified that' the decision of whether or not an inmate clerk will help an individual inmate in segregation is left to the clerk. It was also clear from Ms. Stahlman’s testimony that she had no idea what, if anything, any law clerk was working on. 115. A number of inmates have advised the law library that they are functionally illiterate, and, therefore, unable to perform any research or writing on their own. Mr. Holmes has sometimes verified their functional illiteracy. Mr. Holmes has no reason to disbelieve the inmates’ statements in other cases. 116. At the time he testified, Mr. Rock-man was working on substantive matters for five inmates. Mr. Rockman does not respond to all of the requests he receives from inmates in segregation because there are many more requests than he has time to process. In order to provide additional assistance to inmates in segregation, Mr. Rock-man uses four “writ writers” — inmates in segregation who have some legal experience. However, even with this additional help, Mr. Rockman testified that he cannot begin to meet the demand by inmates in segregation for legal assistance. Lockdowns 117. During a lockdown, inmate clerks are not permitted to go to the library or to the segregation units. The inmate clerks are permitted to do some legal work in their cells; however, Mr. Holmes testified that their ability to perform meaningful work is “greatly hampered” during a lockdown. There have been a minimum of 15 lockdowns in the last four years at Pontiac. The shortest of these lockdowns has been two days, and the longest has lasted in excess of one month. During a lockdown, Mr. Holmes and the other library personnel attempt to provide service to inmates in segregation. However, the civilian personnel must provide legal services to the entire population of Pontiac. As a result, their assistance is limited to distributing forms requesting extensions of time. Mr. Holmes testified that he did not have time to help the inmates complete these forms. Miscellaneous 118. No outside agency is available to the inmates at Pontiac to provide substantive help. Although Ms. Stahlman indicated that she could call Prairie State Legal Services for assistance, she could cite only one example involving a divorce matter where she had actually called for information. Ms. Stahl-man testified that Prairie State Legal Services did not take any cases for inmates. Menard Correctional Center General 119. Menard Correctional Center (“Me-nard”) is the largest maximum security prison in Illinois. There are 2,400 inmates at Menard. Seventy-eight percent of the inmates have been convicted of murder, Class X, or Class 1 offenses. 120. Although Menard has more inmates than any other Illinois maximum security facility, it has fewer staff members. There are five or six correctional officers for every 300 inmates. Many of the inmates are violent. Segregation 121. There were 270 inmates in the segregation unit at Menard in April, 1992. On occasion, there have been 300 or more inmates in segregation. The segregation unit includes 100 double cells; the remainder are single cells. Most have bars in front, but 55 cells have solid doors, some with plexiglass view panels. A segregation cell is 4% feet by 10/6 feet, with a bed, sink, toilet, and light. 122. Segregation inmates are prohibited from participating in prison programs. Segregation inmates are brought to the showers in shifts during the course of the day, and to the yard three times per week for two hours. 123. The segregation unit has a higher incidence of serious and violent behavior problems than the other units. Therefore, it is more difficult to maintain safety and order with respect to inmates confined in segregation. Nonetheless, defendants escort inmates out of the segregation unit to the health care unit daily as well as to the grievance committee and the administrative review board. 124. Segregation inmates are also escorted out of the segregation unit for personal and legal visits. There are small rooms available for attorneys to visit with inmates. The correctional officer escorts the inmate, waits, and returns him to his cell. 125. A segregation inmate is permitted one telephone call per month. In addition, he is permitted to call an attorney if he can verify that he has an attorney; otherwise, permission to call an attorney is discretionary with the correctional officer. Access to Legal Services 126. Menard has a law library with a collection that plaintiffs agree is adequate. When fully-staffed, the library employs a library associate, who performs the functions of a librarian; a paralegal; and a library assistant. At the time of the trial, the library associate at Menard was Leanne Pate. She has a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in library science. Her responsibility is to oversee the library, which houses both a general collection and a law library. In the absence of a paralegal, she provides direct supervision of the law library. There was no testimony to indicate that she had any legal training. A library assistant works under both Ms. Pate and the paralegal, performing such functions as making up lists of segregation inmates who can come to the library, notarizing documents, and delivering supplies to cells. 127. The law library contains five study cells for segregation inmates. A segregation inmate must make a request in order to be allowed to visit the library. Library visiting hours for segregation inmates are 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., four days per week. (Shortly before the trial began