The California Prison and Parole Law Handbook

The California Prison and Parole Law Handbook (Heather MacKay & Prison Law Office, 5th Ed, 2019, 1170 pages) is available for download for free online.  Unfortunately, the Prison Law Office no longer sells or sends out copies of the Handbook. As of January 2024, we are starting to update the Handbook a few chapters at a time. As we finish the updated chapters, they will appear on the CDCR Tablets and we will post them on our website. Any updated chapter will show the date on which it was revised. We currently do not know if or when we will any print paper copies of the Handbook after all of the chapters are updated. 

The Handbook is a comprehensive overview of the laws and policies affecting people in state prisons and on parole in California. Includes extensive discussion of the administrative appeals and court actions that people can use to protect their rights and to seek remedies. 19 chapters, plus resource lists, forms, and sample legal documents. Chapters include: Administrative Appeals; Rights of People in Prison; Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Use of Excessive Force, and Protection from Physical and Sexual Abuse; Classification, Housing and Programs; Prison Rule Violations; Placement in Segregation; Medical, Mental Health, and Dental Care; Determinate Sentences, Restitution, Time Credits, and Release Dates; Life Parole Suitability, Other Board of Parole Hearings Proceedings, Commutations, and Pardons; Detainers and Extradition; Parole and Post-Release Community Supervision; MDO and SVP Commitments; Workers Compensation and Other Benefits; Immigration Issues for People in Prison; Direct Appeals of Criminal Convictions; State Petitions for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Writ of Mandate/Prohibition; Federal Petitions for Writ of Habeas Corpus; Federal Civil Rights (“Section 1983”) Lawsuits; State Tort Lawsuits; and Legal Research, Writing, and Strategies.