Paragon Paralegals

02/21/2022

In part two of our understanding civil rights series we break down Section 1983. Check out our newest blog and share it if you feel like it could help someone you know!

Part 2: 42 U.S.C. §1983 Lawsuits. The easiest way to see what type of lawsuit you can file under Section 1983 is to review the law itself.       Every person who, UNDER COLOR OF ANY STATUTE, ORDINANCE, REGULATION, CUSTOM OR USAGE, OF ANY STATE

02/02/2022

Help protect your incarcerated loved ones.

Part 1: Introduction to 42 U.S.C. §1983 . To those of you whom are familiar with the less-than-professional ways that State-prison employees and officers mismanage the custody and care of our loved ones in prison, did you know that there is a federal law which prisoners can use to remedy the violat

01/26/2022

Washington DOC is notorious for rejecting prisoners' written communication, but what a lot of people don't know is that prisoners have a constitutionally protected right to send and receive mail. Witherow v. Paff , 52 F.3d 264, 265 (9th Cir. 1995)(citing Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401, 407 (198

01/24/2022

Are you getting rejection notifications from the Washington DOC? If not your rights are being violated.

Did you know that anytime your emails to your loved one are rejected, DOC staff are REQUIRED to notify YOU in writing of the rejection and of your right to appeal that rejection? Did you know that you have a FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT for DOC to abide by the Washington Administrative Code (WAC)?

01/22/2022

Know your rights!

When you’re a prisoner and you litigate against prison officials, you tend to get a lot of flack from those in charge. That is to say, their attitude seems to be “how dare you stand up for yourself and enforce your rights”? And the usual first reaction from prison officials when you start to e...

01/19/2022

DOC Policy Doesn’t Mean Anything!

How many times have you tried to work with DOC, or to do something for your incarcerated loved one, only to have DOC say something along the lines of ''DOC Policy doesn't allow this,'' or ''DOC Policy says...''?

What if I told you that DOC Policy doesn't have any force or effect at all? Don't believe me? Read the law yourself. DOC makes its Policy under the Administrative Procedures Act, RCW 34.05.230(1). That law specifies in part: ''CURRENT interpretive and POLICY STATEMENTS ARE ADVISORY ONLY.''

Yup. That's right. DOC POLICY IS ADVISORY ONLY!

It has no force and effect at law. Still doubt me? OK, read the case of PRP of Gossett, 7 Wn.App.2d 610, 622, 435 P.3d 314 (2009) where the Washington Attorney General blatantly argued that DOC Policies are not laws of the State of Washington and that prisoners have no rights or privileges under them.

General references to ''laws of this state'' or ''laws of the state of Washington'' not only include within their scope the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), but generally also include the Washington Administrative Code (WAC). See Inman v. Sandvig, 170 Wash. 112, 118, 15 P.2d 696 (1932)(general references to ''law'' in the state constitution apply not only to statutes, but also to administrative regulations). Because administrative rules and regulations (WACs) are adopted through delegated legislative process to make law, they are given the force and effect of laws. PRP of Cashaw, 123 Wn.2d 138, 149 n.6, 866 P.2d 8 (1994).

So what does all of this mean? It means that whenever DOC personnel tries to blow smoke at you or your loved ones and say that ''DOC Policy says...,'' respectfully let them know that DOC Policy is ADVISORY ONLY and holds no force or effect at law. If they're not citing a WAC regulation (DOC's regulations are contained within WAC Title 137) or an RCW as authorizing or prohibiting whatever they're attempting or omitting, then they're getting over on you.

What can you do? Well, you can file a statutory Complaint with the Secretary of DOC and with the Superintendent of the institution where your loved one is located. Under RCW 72.01.060, if you complain to either the Secretary of DOC or the Superintendent of the respective institution (or each of them), they're required under that law to investigate and report on any complaint submitted against any superintendent or employee. They can even fire the employee whom you're complaining about.

Paragon Paralegals is a nonprofit organization dedicated to adding value to the lives of all prisoners and their families.

Head over to our website and sign up for our FREE monthly newsletter where helpful information like this is sent directly to your email.

https://www.paragonparalegals.org/blog/doc-policy-doesnt-mean-anything