OAR 291-139-0120: Access to Law Library Services and Equipment

(1) General: (a) Within the inherent limitation of resources and the need for facility security, safety, health, and order, and subject to operational contingencies, all inmates will be afforded reasonable opportunities to access law library services and equipment, and necessary supplies for the preparation and filing of legal documents with the courts and paroling authorities, on a prioritized basis, in accordance with these rules. (b) Inmates may be permitted access to law library services and equipment to prepare and file correspondence with the court or paroling authorities, and to communicate with counsel in the Attorney General’s Office or with the district attorney, in connection with a legal matter that is pending before the court or paroling authorities. (2) Priority Access to Law Library Services and Equipment: (a) Inmate access to law library services and equipment will be prioritized in the following order: (A) Priority legal users with an imminent court deadline; (B) General legal users with an imminent court deadline; (C) Priority legal users without an imminent court deadline; and (D) General legal users without an imminent court deadline. (b) Library coordinators will consider whether the inmate has assigned legal counsel when determining priority within these categories. (3) Submission of Access Request Form Required: In order to obtain access to law library services and equipment and necessary supplies, an inmate must submit to the library coordinator a written request using the appropriate access request forms. (4) Inmates may be allowed a reasonable amount of time to do legal research and to prepare legal documents in the facility law library or in the inmate’s assigned cell or living unit. (a) A special time allowance for research and preparation of legal documents using law library services and equipment may be granted to a legal user who demonstrates such a need with verification of an imminent court deadline. (b) In the event of extended facility operational modifications library staff will prioritize access to law library services and equipment for inmates in the order described in subsection (2) above. (5) Inmates received from other state or federal jurisdictions who are incarcerated in a Department of Corrections facility will be afforded access to law library services and equipment and necessary supplies in the same manner as Oregon inmates; however, the department will not be responsible for providing inmates with legal research materials specific to other state jurisdictions other than those materials that are regularly made available to Oregon inmates. These inmates must contact their respective state or federal corrections authorities to acquire state-specific materials. (6) Oregon inmates who are incarcerated in a correctional facility located in another state or in a federal correctional facility may request access to Oregon-specific legal research materials and assistance from an assigned inmate legal assistant through correspondence directed to the library coordinator at the Oregon facility they were last housed. Such requests will be processed with reasonable diligence.