jailhouse lawyer
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.63 in modern English
31
Scrabble Score
15
Letters
3
Syllables
12
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A person incarcerated in a prison, jail, etc., who has acquired significant knowledge of the justice system and who is able to represent himself in some legal proceedings and to provide legal advice to other prisoners.
Informal
Example Sentences
- "As something of a jailhouse lawyer, he has gathered affidavits attesting to abusive treatment by guards at the center, informed detainees of their legal rights and helped them write letters of appeal."
- "Once there, he became a jailhouse lawyer, filing complaints about everything from prison food to his attorneys."
- "Thus, the justices held that unless the state could provide some reasonable alternative type of legal assistance, a jailhouse lawyer must be permitted to aid inmates in filing habeas corpus petitions."