Alaska Prisons Replace Law Libraries With Online Research

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Inmates in Alaska now have access to one of the most extensive legal databases on the Internet following an agreement between the Alaska Department of Corrections and LexisNexis.

LexisNexis, a leading provider of legal, news and business information services, has installed legal research terminals that meet the criteria for court mandates that require inmate access to legal information in all state prisons.

The new system is expected to save the DOC $200,000 a year in staffing, maintenance, security and law book subscriptions.

 The Alaska DOC has installed 58 secure terminals in 12 state facilities, which house about 3,600 inmates, and one out-of-state contract facility that houses 800 inmates.

 “One of our responsibilities to the inmates in this system is to provide access to legal research material,” says Marc Antrim, DOC commissioner. “Our commitment to the state is that we will meet this obligation as cost-effectively and as equitably as possible. These new terminals featuring LexisNexis legal research provide inmates with a secure channel to up-to-date legal information needed to pursue their cases while cutting significant time and money out of the system.”

 The computerized approach to legal research allows the DOC to reduce staffing at research areas and security risks are minimized because contraband cannot be hidden in books. Maintenance is also significantly reduced.

 “The Department of Corrections sought a complete, easy-to-use and secure alternative to the traditional law library collection,” says Tim Lyden of the Alaska DOC Standards Administrator. “LexisNexis provides DOC with a simplified inmate interface to automatically updated content that includes a wide variety of analytical and reference materials.”

 The DOC accesses the LexisNexis database through a secure, centralized server that does not allow access to other Web sites or e-mail accounts. The database includes access to state codes, court cases on the state and federal level, Shepard’s Citations Service, and resources such as law dictionaries and guides to criminal defense.

 “Print law libraries are quickly becoming a thing of the past,” says Sheela Kesaree Zemlin, director of marketing and planning at LexisNexis. “Today, budget crunches in many states are causing prison systems to re-evaluate the hefty costs associated with storing, organizing, maintaining and safeguarding their law libraries. LexisNexis helps prisons cut costs without impinging on the rights of inmates in their care.”

 Prison facilities in Alabama use LexisNexis DVDs with updated content, and LexisNexis and Touch Sonic Inc. have installed wall-mounted kiosks with shatterproof touch screens in Hawaii, Indiana and California.