Date: Dec. 23. 2021

To: [redacted]
Jailhouse Lawyer Initiative
139 MacDougal St, B22
New York NY 10012

Re: Introduction and FOIA Toolkit

Dear [redacted],

Hello, how are you doing? I hope well, and that you are enjoying the holidays.

My name is Joseph Dole. I am currently serving a Life-Without-Parole sentence in Illinois. I have been incarcerated for nearly 24 years and spent a decade in [redacted] Supermax Prison. I am a writer, artist, activist jailhouse lawyer and both cofounder and current Policy Director of the nonprofit organization Parole Illinois, I also do a fair amount of FOIA litigation and am currently working on a book on the Illinois FOIA.

Anyway, I recently received the first Jailhouse Lawyers Initiative Practice Module on International Human Rights Law and thought it was excellent. I wish I had this during my decade of solitary confinement in Tamms.

I saw in the accompanying "Meet the Team" flyer, that you are working on a Module on the Freedom of Information Act. I am assuming you are talking about the federal FOIA(?). Therefore I wanted to write to encourage you. That module is greatly needed. Even someone like myself who Is extremely well -versed in our state FOIA and have read hundreds of federal FOIA cases and other publications could benefit from more of the nuts and bolts of appealing and litigating cases concerning the federal FOIA. Not to mention learning about some of the latest amendments to the federal FOIA.

My main focus in doing FOIA litigation is to help people in prison obtain their police and prosecution Ales to challenge their convictions and sentences, While I am in a state prison, helping people with state court convictions those cases often involve obtaining files from federal agencies like the FBI ATR cc, or files from other states.

There are many more delays and hindrances to litigating federal FOIA cases than Illinois FOIA case si I definitely look forward to receiving the FOIA module you are working on. If you haven't already thought of it. I would also encourage you to include an addendum listing all 50 states FOIA statutes, appeal process and maybe what type of complant one would need to file in that state (For instance, in Illinois it used to be a mandamus petition, but then in 2010 the statute included its own authority to file a complaint under)

Anyway, you all are doing phenomenal work at the Jailhouse Lawyers Initiative. Thank you for all of your efforts.

Sincerely /s/ Joseph R. Dole
From: Joseph Dole [redacted]
[redacted]
P.O. Box [redacted]
[redacted] IL [redacted] www.facebook.com/JosephDole Incarcerated Writer/