Legal Issues and Ethical Standards in Corrections Flashcards
7 cards from real CCM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Legal Issues and Ethical Standards in Corrections flashcards as text
The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) of 1996 requires inmates to do what before filing a federal civil rights lawsuit?
Answer: Exhaust all available administrative remedies
The PLRA mandates that inmates exhaust all available administrative remedies before bringing a federal civil rights action in court.
Under which constitutional amendment do inmates retain a limited right to access courts and legal counsel?
Answer: First and Fourteenth Amendments
Inmates' right to access courts derives from the First Amendment right to petition the government and the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause.
Which case established that inmates have a constitutional right to be free from unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain during prison disturbances?
Answer: Whitley v. Albers (1986)
Whitley v. Albers established that the malicious-and-sadistic standard applies when force is used to suppress prison disturbances.
An ethical corrections manager who discovers an agency policy that conflicts with professional ethical standards should FIRST:
Answer: Comply with policy while documenting concerns and seeking policy revision through proper channels
Professionals should comply with lawful agency policy while formally documenting ethical concerns and pursuing change through established administrative channels.
Qualified immunity protects correctional officers from civil liability unless they violate:
Answer: A clearly established statutory or constitutional right of which a reasonable person would have known
Qualified immunity shields officers unless the violated right was clearly established such that a reasonable officer would have recognized the unlawfulness of the conduct.
Which of the following best describes the legal concept of 'deliberate indifference' as applied to inmate safety?
Answer: Knowing of a substantial risk of serious harm and disregarding it
Deliberate indifference requires subjective awareness of a substantial risk of serious harm combined with a conscious disregard of that risk.
When a court issues a consent decree governing a correctional facility, what obligation does it create for the facility's management?
Answer: A binding court order with enforceable mandates subject to contempt sanctions
A consent decree is a binding court order, and failure to comply can result in contempt of court sanctions against the facility or its officials.