I’m listening just now to a podcast episode in which a murder defendant refused counsel and represented herself in court. Leaving aside all the questions this raises about the wisdom (or lack thereof) of doing so, this leads me to ask: Will the jail or prison allow the defendant any accommodations in terms of being given a room in which to work, being excused from the usual jail routines, and so on? Some kind of access to a legal database?
Aren’t all prisoners (except for those under extraordinary security measures) allowed access to the prison library?
All US prisons have law libraries or means for inmates to access them. Inmates get time to use the library, they can work there or on their units. There’s not so much labor or job opportunity that needs to be done by inmates in a prison that it would prevent them from “working on my case”. (I hear that term a lot: “Doc, I didn’t come down for my lab tests that day because I was working on my case”.)
Here’s a real-world example from Colorado.
One of the difficulties, however, is that law libraries are increasingly online. That can set up issues where the accused needs online access to get current legal resources, like cases snd statutes, but may be under prohibitions in using the internet (eg, mobsters, fraudsters, child-porners, domestic violence/harassers).
In my entire career, I never saw a prisoner in such heavy security that he was denied access to law library material. That would have been right up there with denying a prisoner food or medical care.
Everyone has access to the material, but presumably there are some high-security prisoners who aren’t allowed into the library itself (just like they might not be allowed into the cafeteria, but instead have meals brought to their cell).
That works when the legal source is a book. Can raise problems when the way to access is by the internet. Bringing a computer with an outside link to the prisoner’s cell can raise security issues.
Without going into details, I’m aware of some cases where the issue of internet access to legal materials was a security issue.
People held in prison (remand) awaiting trial (unconvicted) cannot be forced to perform penal labor, as it would be a violation of the 13th amendment.
I have a friend who was recently released from state prison after about a year. During her entire period of incarceration, she was never allowed to visit the law library (or any library) due to COVID restrictions. I think she said that the only time she was allowed out of her cell block at all was for meals. I don’t know how common this is, but there are definitely prisons right now where access to the law library is restricted or non-existent.
Note that @Little_Nemo referred to law library material. As referred to upthread, was your friend allowed access to law library material for consultation in her cell block, i.e. having books and material delivered to her cell?
Ted Bundy famously escaped from custody by jumping out of a second story law library window in the courthouse (he was granted access because he was representing himself).