Psychological injury and the Prison Litigation Reform Act: A "not exactly," equal protection analysis

In 1996, Congress passed the Prison Litigation Reform Act, which curtails p risoners' rights both to proceed in forma pauperis in federal courts and to claim damages Sor psychological injury without accompanying physical injur y. In this Article, Professor Robertson argues that prisoners as a class sh ould be considered a "discrete and insular" minority, and hence that laws t hat deprive them of privileges because of their status as prisoners should be subject to heightened judicial scrutiny. He maintains that the Act, inso far as it limits prisoners' access to legal remedies, does not survive such scrutiny.