The study revealed significant differences in the behavior of State and Federal judges. State supreme courts settled fewer prisoner access cases than the Federal Courts of Appeals and responded to prisoner access issues in a consistently more restrictive manner than the Federal tribunals. Nevertheless, State high court justices, like their Federal counterparts, demonstrated little inclination to write opinions which mourn the passing of the hands-off era or which criticize U.S. Supreme Court decisions which have expanded prisoners' rights. The findings reported in this study tend to confirm the utility of nonhierarchical models of the American judicial system. A total of 70 footnotes are supplied. (Author summary modified)