Calvin Duncan > Quotes

“After litigating his claims in the lower court and losing, Johnson appealed to the US Supreme Court. In a rare move, the court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, agreed to hear the pro se petitioner’s case, and Johnson, who was appointed counsel, prevailed in his lawsuit seven votes to two. Throughout the 1970s, the Supreme Court further fortified the right to access the courts through several pivotal decisions. It struck down regulations limiting the number of law books prisons could maintain and broadened the right beyond criminal appeals to include prisoners’ civil rights complaints. Then, in 1977, the court issued a landmark ruling in Bounds v. Smith holding that states have an affirmative obligation to ensure that incarcerated individuals receive meaningful access to the courts. This included providing them with pens, paper, notary services, stamps, and law libraries or other forms of legal assistance.”
― Calvin Duncan, The Jailhouse Lawyer

“He started to file suits on behalf of other men, many of whom were enduring worse conditions than he was. He helped them file over the lack of medical care, arbitrary disciplinary procedures, inadequate food portions that were leading some people to starve, and failure to provide mental health treatment. Having been demoralized for so long, Calvin found that defending others helped him regain a sense of purpose. One lawsuit in particular showed him how powerful the law could be.”
― Calvin Duncan, The Jailhouse Lawyer

“His mind returned to Kunta Kinte’s journey in Roots. Since Black people’s earliest encounter with America, he thought, their existence had been defined by their economic value only. Listening to the lifers, Calvin saw that a version of these old forces was still at work, ushering Black boys to Angola in droves.”
― Calvin Duncan, The Jailhouse Lawyer

“A shift toward more punitive sentencing combined with a newfound reluctance on the part of governors to use their commutation powers was rapidly increasing the length of prison sentences in Louisiana.”
― Calvin Duncan, The Jailhouse Lawyer

“In prison, the notion of being a man narrowed even further. In that environment, the whole goal is to rob you of your concept of self. To the guards, we were children. To the lawyers, we were a means to an end. To the institution, we were a source of job creation. To each other, we were a conquest. Being willing to kill to protect my body from interference—that was being a man. I was lucky enough to survive that chapter of prison life.”
― Calvin Duncan, The Jailhouse Lawyer

“too. Not all the residents’ injuries were self-inflicted. He doubted the guards had received any specialized training, and many seemed spiteful toward the men in their charge. Particularly on Monday mornings, unexplained black eyes appeared on the tiers after certain guards had been left unsupervised over the weekend.”
― Calvin Duncan, The Jailhouse Lawyer