Inmate lawsuits fall into two general categories: petitions for a writ of habeus corpus, and those involving civil rights complaints, generally related to prison conditions. Several differences can be seen between suits filed by State and Federal inmates. Federal inmate grievance filings increased primarily between 1962 and 1972, and have increased only an additional 8 percent since then. Federal inmates file relatively few civil rights suits and are far more active than State inmates in litigating. Filings by State inmates increased greatly between 1962 and 1967 and have continued to increase at high rates since. In 1962, less than 1 suit was filed per 100 inmates; while the number of suits has increased, the proportion of inmates filing them has not. While habeus corpus petitions accounted for 97 percent of all suits in 1962, they accounted for only 29 percent in 1987. Conversely, civil rights suits increased 600 percent between 1972 and 1987. Most civil rights complaints challenge internal prison policies (e.g. discipline, cell assignment). These are followed in frequency by complaints related to prison violence, original case issues, and prison conditions. The most common habeus corpus complaints concern the original case, particularly trial procedures. Methods for reducing such litigation include improved dispute resolution methods, independent monitoring, consolidation of similar suits into class actions, improved inmate legal assistance, and better staff training and monitoring. 2 tables and 7 references.