Message From NCPLS Board Immediate Past-President Fred J. Williams

North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services (NCPLS) is a non-profit, public service law firm that provides legal advice and assistance to people incarcerated in this State. Founded in 1978, NCPLS challenges inhumane conditions of confinement and illegal criminal convictions or sentences. Providing North Carolina inmates with information about their legal rights and responsibilities, NCPLS works to reduce frivolous litigation and to resolve legitimate problems through administrative channels. When serious problems cannot be resolved administratively, NCPLS offers legal representation in all State and Federal courts throughout North Carolina, and beyond.

Over the program's 26 year history, NCPLS advocacy has earned the respect of clients, the North Carolina Department of Correction, jail officials, and State and Federal courts. NCPLS employs 40 people (27 women and 13 men), including 18 lawyers, 15 paralegals, and 7 support staff members. Serving a client population of almost 37,000 DOC prisoners and 14,000 pretrial detainees (a changing population of about 250,000 people, annually), NCPLS advocates deliver excellent legal services effectively and efficiently, in more than 13,000 cases a year.

Among the victories NCPLS has won for its clients were landmark cases disallowing efforts to avoid liability for physical injuries caused by inadequate medical care, the use of gratuitous violence against inmates ( e.g. , the use of "night-sticks" and "billy-clubs" in a life-threatening manner; or the use of high-pressure water hoses as punishment for real and imagined misconduct), and cases challenging inhumane conditions of confinement at 48 "road camp" prison units.

But NCPLS advocates have also achieved good results for clients by working cooperatively with correctional professionals to reach amicable resolutions of legitimate concerns, sometimes even after litigation has been instituted. For instance, in a class action lawsuit that alleged serious and life-threatening deficiencies in the medical care provided to women prisoners, NCPLS and DOC attorneys were able to resolve the litigation by jointly hiring an independent expert who evaluated the health care delivery system at the prison and recommended changes which DOC implemented.

In short, NCPLS is a highly effective program that has provided a service to the State by helping the Department of Correction to fulfill a constitutional obligation - providing "access to the courts" for people who are incarcerated.

NCPLS is also an exceptionally cost-effective program - NCPLS saves the DOC more than the cost of the services it provides. During the past five years, the contract with DOC has generated an average of less than $2.5 million for NCPLS, annually. During the same period of time, NCPLS has saved the DOC more than $15 million ($3 million per year) by ensuring that prisoners' convictions and sentences comport with the law, and that prisoners are properly credited with time-served. The contract with DOC more than pays for itself.

Because of its committed staff, the outstanding professionals who volunteer their time to serve on the Board of Directors, the program's long and distinguished history, and the excellent services NCPLS provides its clients, the North Carolina Department of Correction, and the citizens of North Carolina, I am proud to lead the program as the President of the Board as we address today's challenges, and those we will face in the future.

May 2005.

Fred J. Williams, Esq.
Associate Professor of Law
Immediate Past-President, NCPLS Board of Directors