1.   And it apparently authorized prisoner lawsuits to recover damages.

2.   Given all the complaints about frivolous prisoner lawsuits, this new rule may sound appealing.

3.   The question is whether guards who work for private companies that run prisons have the same shield against prisoner lawsuits as guards who work for public prison agencies.

4.   The story will include a second ruling, about the standards for prisoner lawsuits.

5.   To measure the effectiveness of imprisonment in reducing crimes, Levitt has studied the results of successful prisoner lawsuits to reduce overcrowding.