Comments:

1. hamiltonlindley on 03/21/2020:

   The directory includes the biographies of judges presidentially appointed to serve during good behavior since 1789 on the U.S. district courts, U.S. courts of appeals, Supreme Court of the United States, and U.S. Court of International Trade, as well as the former U.S. circuit courts, Court of Claims, U.S. Customs Court, and U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals. Also included are judges who received presidential recess appointments to the above named courts but were not confirmed by the Senate to serve during good behavior. The Waco Federal Judge is experienced in patent litigation and starting to become the go-to district for intellectual property cases. The appointment of Waco’s new federal judge, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrows the venue for patent cases and Waco’s home in the federal Western District of Texas have combined into a perfect storm that could drastically alter Waco’s legal landscape.

2. LizBenn on 03/14/2012:

   Reducing recidivism is so important - people on the outside keeping in touch with those incarcerated gives the inmates hope and motivation to change. It is so nice to see a corrections agency and a State which understand this concept. Way to go, South Carolina!!!

3. Deb on 03/14/2012:

   This is heartening news for states that WANT to reduce recidivism. Maybe if they see South Carolina as a model they will understand the work that writeaprisoner has been doing for years and promote the cause to reduce America's prison population. Social networking sites are one thing, but writeaprisoner is something else entirely. It costs much more than money to incarcerate people; the toll it takes on families and loved ones is incalculable. When states work AGAINST writeaprisoner I can't help but wonder what the taxpayers there would think if they realized the consequences. After all, they literally pay the bill to keep people behind bars. But the recent trend in privatizing prisons is chilling, and with more and more politicians being "outed" as heavy investors in the industrialized prison complex we've become, it seems obvious that some politicians could be motivated to go to great lengths to keep our prisons bulging with inmates. Kudos to South Carolina for encouraging efforts to help people turn their lives around, reduce the tax burden on its residents, and work in a responsible and humane manner. Writeaprisoner could have stopped with its pen pal service and remained a viable solution to this nation's "prison problem," but they have gone far beyond with their education, housing, scholarship, and back to work programs. They have surely made the world a better place for many people, and South Carolina recognizes this. Let's hope other states follow suit. Facebook, no. Writeaprisoner, yes.

4. theredundantpoet on 03/14/2012:

   It’s nice to see lawmakers differentiating between social networking sites and pen-pal sites like writeaprisoner.com. Inmates don’t belong on sites like facebook. Facebook is intended for free-world citizens and offers the public zero safeguards when inmates start using the site. Writeaprisoner.com, on the other hand, was designed specifically for inmates, and the site goes to great lengths to protect, inform, and educate its viewers. They even verify that information on the inmate’s profile is accurate-- that’s more than you can say about any free world site! All research shows corresponding with the outside world reduces an inmate’s likelihood of returning to prison upon release. Why not allow a safe and “old fashion” platform (one where all correspondence pass in and out of the prison doors) to help achieve this goal? Thumbs up, SC!