There is an article in Friday's Miami Herald entitled, "Inmates Sue for Access to Law Library." This is especially interesting in light of the struggles of our own Dane County Law Library/Legal Research Center. From the article:

A pair of Broward inmates asked an appeals court Thursday to stop Sheriff Ken Jenne from closing down the law library in one of the county's jails next week.

Jenne began converting jail law libraries at his five jails earlier this year into online systems that require inmates to make their requests for legal research in writing. The move saves about $150,000 a year, but the inmates fear it will take away their constitutional right to an adequate defense by slowing down research. . .

[It was noted that] success in Broward will depend on how responsive Jenne is to inmates' needs for legal help and the quality of training given to researchers. The inmate population has a higher rate of illiteracy than the general public and often needs lots of help in legal research.