Significant numbers of intravenous drug users regularly come into contact with the criminal justice system. The risk of HIV infection among offenders who use intravenous drugs is higher than that of nonoffending intravenous drug users. Therefore, the potential for the spread of HIV in correctional settings needs to be addressed. Although the courts have examined the issues of mass HIV screening of inmates and the segregation of HIV-infected inmates, no definitive decisions with national implications have emerged. The few attempts at widespread screening have revealed only low rates of infection and have incurred high economic and political costs. As a result, State and local jurisdictions have tended to back away from such approaches. Mass screening is the only mechanism for documenting the full extent of HIV infection within a population and for identifying those in need of intervention and services. However, it involves complex issues and concerns from civil libertarians. Courts are only beginning to address the legal issues, particularly inmate segregation and privacy rights on the one hand and screening on the other, and several important cases have come before the courts during 1988 and 1989. Regardless of the outcomes of these cases, the number of intravenous drug users in jails and prisons, the extent of their risk behaviors, and their rates of seroprevalence all indicate the need for specific services focusing on AIDS education and prevention and inmate drug treatment. 37 references