A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual

A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual ("the JLM") is a resource for incarcerated individuals and jailhouse lawyers, published and distributed by the editors of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review, who are students at Columbia Law School. The JLM is designed to assist inmates understand their legal rights as prisoners. According to the JLM's website, "[p]risoners may use the JLM to address specific problems related to their treatment in prison, or to attack their unfair convictions or sentences."

Founded in 1978, the tenth and most recent edition of the JLM was published in 2014. In addition to the main manual, the JLM produces a Texas State Supplement, and is working to produce supplements for other states as well. The JLM also publishes an Immigration and Consular Access Supplement in both English and Spanish. A Spanish-language translation of the fifth edition of the JLM ("SJLM") was produced, but is now out of date; the JLM is working to release an updated SJLM within the next two years.

Each year, over one thousand copies of the JLM are sent to prisoners, as well as to prisons and jails, libraries, and other organizations that work in the criminal justice field. For prisoners or their families, the cost of the JLM is $30; for institutions, the cost is $105. The JLM order form lists the costs of further publications, as well as instructions on how to place an order. A full copy of the JLM, separated by chapter, is available for free viewing on the JLM's website.