About Us
The Prisoner Advocacy Network (PAN) is a volunteer network of activists, attorneys, legal workers, medical professionals, and law students. We are supervised by attorneys and thus operate under attorney-client privilege and can use legal mail. PAN is an advocacy network, not a litigation team.
History
PAN was the response to a call to action during the California hunger strikes of 2011 and 2013. Family members and strike leaders told the National Lawyers Guild that they needed legal advocacy on behalf of movement leaders in prison. In 2014, we held strategic planning sessions with allied organizations to investigate prisoners’ needs. These formed the foundation of the Prisoner Advocacy Network: a group of people, not only attorneys, who understand the unique issues facing prisoners and can navigate the administrative complexities of the California Department of Corrections (CDCr).
PAN officially launched in 2015 with a community training, opened six cases and set up a mentorship model. Attorneys supervise outside advocates paired with incarcerated matches we call correspondents, to advocate for their legal and medical rights. In 2016, PAN began partnerships with Hastings and Berkeley law schools, as well as volunteer physicians to meet growing needs for medical advocacy.
PAN officially launched in 2015 with a community training, opened six cases and set up a mentorship model. Attorneys supervise outside advocates paired with incarcerated matches we call correspondents, to advocate for their legal and medical rights. In 2016, PAN began partnerships with Hastings and Berkeley law schools, as well as volunteer physicians to meet growing needs for medical advocacy.
Who We AreWe are an all-volunteer organization. We have 6 volunteer attorney mentors who train, mentor, and supervise advocates. The advocates are responsible for working directly with correspondents to meet identified needs and contacting prison or state officials. Many advocates have very little experience with the criminal system or CDCr’s many challenges, and are generally not attorneys. No experience with the criminal or legal system is required to become an advocate. We view this work as a partnership, where we utilize outside resources available to us, and you educate us about your experiences and knowledge of the prison system. We do not share personal information or contact prison officials on our inside-partners’ behalf without explicit permission. PAN does not charge for services. PAN will cover most, if not all, mail costs and fees for accessing records.
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Who We Work WithThere is a huge need for advocacy work in CDCr, but we seek to work with people facing the worst conditions while still fighting for their and others’ rights. We only work with people in CDCr, not in other prison systems or jails. We prioritize people in any kind of isolation (including disciplinary, administrative, and gender-based segregation), jailhouse lawyers, those suffering retaliation as a result of their activism, and those with serious unmet medical needs. We also support family members of those on the inside who are also experiencing retaliation. PAN calls the individuals on the inside who we support correspondents.
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What We Do
Our volunteers are trained in advocacy strategies and can assist with: requesting C-FILE and medical records; performing basic legal, medical, or similar research; assistance with internal appeals; writing letters to the Warden, Ombudsman, medical staff, and Inspector General; classification issues especially related to solitary or ad-seg status; overturning wrongful 115s; property issues; help preparing for parole; psych reports; making copies; calling prison officials; keeping copies of documentation of prison abuses; and supplying resources and information.
