Legal resources for people in prison in Vermont

ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) of Vermont

P.O. Box 277

Montpelier, VT 05601

http://www.acluvt.org/

(802) 223-6304


Serves: VT


Focus area/description: The American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont is dedicated to the defense of individual rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as well as the Vermont Constitution. The ACLU of Vermont exists to protect and expand civil rights and civil liberties in this state. To achieve its mission, its legal program files strategic lawsuits that it believes will best further its priorities, its advocacy program works in the State House to promote legislation that advances Vermonters' rights, and its communications program helps Vermonters understand their rights and inspires them to take action to protect them.

The ACLU of Vermont welcomes stories from Vermonters who believe their rights have been violated. By sharing your experience, you can help it evaluate the status of civil rights and liberties in Vermont, identify emerging issues, and determine where its limited resources are best invested.

If you want to report a violation or tell the ACLU of Vermont your story to guide its work, please fill out and submit or mail in the online form at https://action.aclu.org/privacy-enhanced/vt-story-share. Although the ACLU of Vermont reviews and retains the information it receives, it generally does not respond directly. If you submit a report or tell your story, you should not expect to receive a response from its office.

ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) of Vermont confirmed this listing on July 27, 2026.


These national self-help guides may be useful to people in prison in Vermont:

The Jailhouse Lawyers Manual is a free-to-print guide to legal rights and procedures designed for people in prison. It contains nine sections designed to help incarcerated people learn about their rights, file lawsuits in both state and federal court, attack their conviction or sentence, and address the conditions of their imprisonment. It also contains information about the rights of incarcerated people related to health, safety, religious freedom, and more. We suggest accessing the online version of the manual and mailing the relevant chapters to your incarcerated loved one.

The Jailhouse Lawyers Handbook is a free resource for people in prison who want to file a federal lawsuit addressing poor conditions in prison or abuse by prison staff. This guide will not help challenge convictions or sentences or provide guidance on actions in state courts. It also has 14 appendices that provide sample complaints, legal forms, and guidance on how to reach out to journalists, among other topics. You can download relevant chapters of the handbook and mail them to your incarcerated loved one or request to have a copy mailed to them.

The Prison Book Program produces a free legal resource for incarcerated people called the Insider’s Guide to Jailhouse Law. This guide provides a comprehensive and practical overview of the legal system, and it discusses important legal developments over the last two decades. It is available for free on their website in English and Spanish. You can email the Prison Book Program if you would like them to mail your loved one the guide.

A challenge to our colleagues:

We built the internet's first always-up-to-date list of legal services for incarcerated people. Can you make a similar list for a different kind of resource?

Problem: There are too many outdated resource lists floating around.

Our Solution: Have one resource list that one organization checks each year.

Our Method: Inspired by the Cincinnati Books for Prisoners group, we made a list of every legal services organization on every resource list we could find. Then we send a letter by snail mail to each organization each year asking them to confirm/update their listing. If they respond, we include them on the site for the next 365 days. All the organization needs to do is to sign the form we send them and mail it back in the enclosed envelope. If they don't respond, we keep them on our mailing list and try again next year.

This way, any incarcerated person using the list can be assured that the organization they are writing to recently did exist and was responding to mail. And if an organization fails to respond for some reason (staff turnover, postal problems, the dog ate our letter, etc.) they get another chance next year.

It's a win for everyone. We've built a database for legal services. What list can your organization edit?



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