Thirty percent of the claims were dismissed as "frivolous." Of the 70 percent of the claims found to be nonfrivolous as a matter of law, 66.6 percent were dismissed by the court for some reason other than a disposition on the merits; 3.9 percent resulted in a disposition favorable to the prisoner-plaintiff; and the remaining 29.4 percent resulted in a judgment in favor of the defendants, yielding an overall inmate win rate of only 2.8 percent. This paper describes how these claims were processed through the system and the various types of dispositions. The sociolegal and public policy implications of the findings are discussed. This research suggests that inmates are not aware of the proper ways to use Section 1983 (the meeting of standards for conditions of confinement), given the number of claims dismissed as frivolous. One way to decrease the number of frivolous prisoner lawsuits is to better educate inmates on the proper uses of Section 1983. Unfortunately, the media and stakeholders whose self-interest is to reduce the number of inmate lawsuits have managed public perceptions to make it appear that most, if not all, inmate lawsuits brought under Section 1983 are frivolous, thus equating the inmate pursuit of civil rights with an inherently frivolous endeavor. Such an attitudinal climate increases the risk that inmates will have a difficult time redressing legitimate grievances associated with the conditions of their incarceration. Although there are currently many "frivolous" inmate lawsuits, most are not characterized by the absurd complaints singled out in the popular press. 12 tables, 17 notes, 41 references, and a table of 27 cases