The inmate population is highly litigious. Liability is often related to issues such as misdiagnosis, inappropriate clinical intervention, breach of confidentiality, and negligence in clinical response time. The necessity of making clinical decisions can put the correctional mental health professional in a defensive posture. Clinicians have an ethical responsibility to assist in protecting the security of the institution and the safety of the prison staff as well as the prisoner; however, clinicians must also consider the impact of such measures as the use of restraints on the inmate's mental health. No perfect method exists by which a clinician can avoid the filing of an inmate lawsuit. However, mental health professionals can use a particular paradigm for decisionmaking to avoid liability. Such a model must address all clinical issues and security concerns, identify all people who should be involved in the decisionmaking process, allow decisionmaking based on professional knowledge as well as the most applicable legal standards, and consider resource availability inside and outside the institution and viable alternative courses of action. 17 references (Author abstract modified)