John L. v. Adams

BATCHELDER, Circuit Judge.

This case presents important questions about the existence and scope of the constitutional right of access to the courts in the context of incarcerated juveniles. For the reasons which follow, we hold that incarcerated juveniles do have a constitutional right of access to the courts, and that in order to make this right meaningful the State must provide the juveniles with access to an attorney. We hoid, however, that there are limitations on the types of matters on which the State may be compelled to provide attorney assistance.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

The…