Title:
Ensuring Constitutional Rights for the Incarcerated and Reducing Your Liability in Corrections 2025-2026
Summary:
Ensuring the rights of incarcerated individuals is not only a legal obligation—it’s a cornerstone of operating a safe, secure, and liability-conscious correctional facility. This webinar explores key risk management strategies through the lens of real court cases from across the United States. Participants will gain actionable insights into how to proactively avoid costly legal pitfalls while fostering a humane and compliant environment. Topics include medical and mental health care, suicide prevention, use-of-force protocols, religious accommodations and special diets, and the use of technology to support court access and programming in multilingual settings.
Learning Objectives:
• Identify common legal vulnerabilities in jail operations based on recent case law.
• Implement best practices for delivering constitutionally adequate medical and mental health care.
• Apply proven strategies to reduce suicide risk among incarcerated individuals.
• Evaluate use-of-force policies to ensure compliance with legal standards and ethical practices.
• Accommodate religious practices and dietary needs in accordance with federal guidelines.
• Leverage technology to enhance access to courts and rehabilitative programming, especially in linguistically diverse populations.
Speaker:
Gerard Horgan served as the Superintendent of Jail Operations and Special Sheriff at the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office from 2013 to 2018. In this role, he supervised all Uniformed, Programs, Medical, Mental Health, HR, Fiscal, Legal, Classification and other Administrative staff. Horgan oversaw the daily operation of the facility and serves as a liaison to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and the courts. Previously, he spent over 25 years at the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department where he was Director of Human Resources, Deputy Superintendent, and Superintendent/Special Sheriff at both the Nashua Street Jail and the South Bay House of Correction. Currently, Horgan is a member of the Governor’s Special Commission on Correctional Funding in Massachusetts and he has worked with the Massachusetts Sheriff’s Association on the compliance efforts with the Criminal Justice Reform Act of 2018. He also provides consulting services to a number of Sheriff’s offices on legal and operational issues.Horgan, a Certified Jail Manager, is a graduate of Northeastern University where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science with a concentration in Public Administration and of Suffolk University Law School. He was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1994. Since 2007, Horgan has been a Lecturer at UMass Boston, where he teaches courses in corrections and criminal justice. He has taught numerous classes to corrections staff at Suffolk County, Norfolk County, Hampden County, Worcester County and the Massachusetts Sheriff’s Association. He has presented at the American Jail Association Conference in the area of liability and risk management, the use of force, medical and mental health issues, and religious right. Horgan has conducted similar trainings for the Kentucky Jailers Association and for the AJA in Nebraska, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, California, Colorado, and Virginia.
About LexisNexis
LexisNexis® Legal & Professional is a leading provider of inmate law library solutions for correctional facilities including the Department of Corrections in 35 states and territories. Solutions are custom built to meet specific online & offline state requirements. Options available are compatible with a variety of tablet, kiosk or desktop delivery devices and vendors. Click here to learn more.
