Law Review Articles by Professor Andrea Armstrong
Slavery Revisited in Penal Plantation Labor (2012)
This Article argues that the Thirteenth Amendment allows forced inmate labor only when the labor approximates the conditions of involuntary servitude, rather than the conditions of slavery. Further, this Article argues that society must critically examine the types of labor we require our inmates to perform and prohibit the imposition of slavery, even when the enslaved person is an inmate.
No Prisoner Left Behind? Enhancing Public Transparency of Penal Institutions (2014)
This Article explores the social, economic, and constitutional reasons underlying the need for greater transparency. At its core, this Article argues that if the goal of a prison system is both punishment and rehabilitation, our prisons are failing institutions that result in the creation and maintenance of a racial and socio-economic underclass.
Race, Prison Discipline, and the Law (2015)
This Article discusses the potential impact of race on prison disciplinary decisions and the legal validation of these racial norms through judicial deference. In doing so, this article first explores how implicit bias can influence prison disciplinary decisions, and second examines the role of the law in validating these race-based decisions.
Racial Origins of Doctrines Limiting Prisoner Protest Speech (2016)
This Article examines the racial origins of two foundational cases governing prisoner protest speech to better understand their impact in light of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Death Row Conditions Through an Environmental Justice Lens (2017)
This Article attempts to paint a broader picture of the environmental dangers for individuals incarcerated on death row by applying an environmental justice lens to the experience of Glenn Ford during his time on death row at Angola.
The Missing Link: Jail and Prison Conditions in Criminal Justice Reform (2019)
This Article attempts to connect the dots between conditions in jails and prisons and broader criminal justice reform efforts. This Article highlights Louisiana conditions and reforms and also draws from other states and national data to establish broader trends.
Beyond the 13th Amendment-Captive Labor (2021)
This article proposes a framework to understand incarcerated labor beyond the confines of the Thirteenth Amendment. A new congressional resolution to amend the Thirteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution aims to expand protection from slavery and involuntary servitude to incarcerated people convicted of a crime.
People in jails, prisons, and juvenile detention centers across Louisiana are dying. Without a public repository of the details of these deaths, they often go underreported and under-investigated. Deaths behind bars can implicate the general conditions of confinement in carceral settings and may prompt carceral administrators to review their policies and procedures to create safer carceral spaces.
Prison Medical Deaths and Qualified Immunity (2022)
The defense of qualified immunity for claims seeking monetary damages for constitutionally inadequate medical care for people who are incarcerated is misguided. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, medical illness is the leading cause of death of people incarcerated in prisons and jails across the United States. Qualified immunity in these cases limits accountability for carceral actors, thereby limiting incentives for improvements in the delivery of constitutionally adequate medical care.
Unconvicted Incarcerated Labor (2022)
This article examines the court-created “housekeeping” exception to the Thirteenth Amendment’s ban on slavery and involuntary servitude for people detained pending trial. Through a deeper understanding of the origin and evolution of the doctrine, the author identifies and discusses the criteria courts have employed to create and expand the “housekeeping” exception.
Access Denied: Public Records and Incarcerated People (2023)
This essay analyzes how an increasing number of states limit access to public records by people who are incarcerated. It provides a fifty-state overview of access to public records by people in custody, categorizing the ways in which state law exclude incarcerated people, both from requesting public records generally as well as records concerning their confinement.
As of December 2023, there were roughly 28,000 people held in state custody in Louisiana. Prior research and litigation have documented challenges with healthcare service delivery within prisons, but less is known about the higher acuity care incarcerated people receive at state-contracted hospitals. This paper studies Louisiana healthcare professionals and their experiences of providing incarcerated people care at hospitals.