Iowa State Corrections Director W.L. “Kip” Kautzky has proposed shutting down all the law libraries in the state's prison system as a way to cut down on frivolous lawsuits by inmates and save money.
According to a February 16 Associated Press story, Iowa prisoners have flooded the courts with suits over such issues as the right to wear cowboy boots and to have their cheeseburgers served hot. Kautzky's plan calls for phasing out the law libraries over the next two years; regular prison libraries would remain open and would stock some basic legal books.
Kautzky's proposal is supported by a 1996 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned a requirement in Arizona that the state provide inmates with top-notch prison libraries. “My belief is that we will improve the quality of the lawsuits that do have a basis to proceed,” he said, “and that we will not be spending our time spinning our wheels to address somebody's personal set of issues.”
Posted February 22, 1999.