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73 Vand. L. Rev. En Banc 143 (2020)
Taking an Interest in Inmate Trust Accounts

handle is hein.journals/valewenb73 and id is 142 raw text is: NOTE Taking an Interest in Inmate Trust Accounts The Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause is generally unconcerned about the size of property taken. But is it more concerned about the person from whom the property is taken? When that person is a prisoner, courts have found the relevance of the Takings Clause less clear. The Supreme Court has held that the interest earned on private accounts held by the state-however minimal-is protected by the Takings Clause. Circuits are split, however, on the question of whether that protection extends to the interest earned on inmate trust accounts. This Note examines the circuit split and considers other paths to recovery for inmates. Finally, this Note argues that both stare decisis and the notion of the positivist trap in the procedural due process realm indicate that courts should consider the interest earned on inmate trust accounts no differently than they would other trust accounts. In other words, courts should recognize that Takings Clause protection does not stop short of the interest earned on inmate trust accounts. INTRODUCTION............................................................................. 144 I. BACKGROUND ........................................................................... 146 A. Takings Clause Jurisprudence.......................................... 146 B. Prison Law ....................................................................... 150 C. The Circuit Split: Do Inmates Have a Protectible Property Interest in the Interest Earned on Inmate Trust Accounts?..... 152 1. The Ninth Circuit Approach: Interest on Inmate Trust Accounts is Protectible..............................................152 2. The Majority Approach: Denying Protection for Interest on Inmate Trust Accounts............................................. 155 3. Recent Cases: Skirting the Question...........................157 II. RECOVERING INTEREST ........................................................... 158 A . Inm ate Trust A ccounts...................................................... 158 143