''Pervear v. Massachusetts'', 72 U.S. (5 Wall.) 475 (1866), was a case brought before the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in 1866 over the issue of prisoners'

rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical the ...

. The court ruled that prisoners have no constitutional rights, not even Eighth Amendment rights.. This was the first case stating the "hands off"

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...

that allowed states to run their prisons without federal interference. The application of the Bill of Rights to state action did not come until later and then only in part. At that time in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

, the Bill of Rights was seen as a bar to federal interference with state actions, and therefore a means of ensuring federal restraint.

Background

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

business owner was convicted and sentenced to the payment of a large

fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an offe ...

and to three months of hard labor for failing to have a state

license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

for his liquor store. He tried to invoke the "cruel and unusual punishment" clause of the Eighth Amendment.

Decision

The Supreme Court ruled that the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

did not apply to state cases but only to federal issues. Pervear did not take the case further. This "hands off" policy was not successfully challenged until 1963 when ''

Jones v. Cunningham ''Jones v. Cunningham'', 371 U.S. 236 (1963), was a Supreme Court case in which the court first ruled that state inmates had the right to file a writ of habeas corpus challenging both the legality and the conditions of their imprisonment. Prior ...

'' had the Supreme Court rule that inmates in state institutions could file a writ of habeas corpus challenging the conditions of their imprisonment as well as its legality.

References

External links

* * {{caselaw source , case = {{ussc, name=Pervear v. Massachusetts, volume=72, page=475, pin=, year=1866, reporter=Wall., reporter-volume=5, el=no , courtlistener =https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/87846/pervear-v-commonwealth/ , findlaw = https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/72/475.html , googlescholar = https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5603049809858674467 , justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/72/475/case.html , loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep072/usrep072475/usrep072475.pdf United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Chase Court Criminal cases in the Chase Court Overruled United States Supreme Court decisions 1866 in United States case law Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause case law Imprisonment and detention in the United States Penology Incorporation case law