AI-Assisted Legal & Reentry Guidance for Inmates and Families

Ask Gideon is an AI-assisted information service developed in connection with McCracken Stoll. It is designed to give inmates and their families a more affordable and accessible way to get answers to questions, identify issues worth exploring, and stay informed about developments that may affect them.

No. Ask Gideon is affiliated with and supported by McCracken Stoll, but it is not the same as formally retaining the firm for full legal representation.

No. Participation in Ask Gideon does not by itself create a full attorney-client engagement for motion practice, litigation, court appearances, or individualized case representation beyond the scope of the program. If a matter requires full legal review or representation, that would need to be handled separately.

Ask Gideon is especially geared toward legal and prison-related issues, including sentence issues, First Step Act questions, compassionate release developments, habeas and post-conviction matters, prison rights issues, BOP questions, detainers, pending charges, and related concerns. It may also help with broader factual and practical questions, including reentry-oriented topics such as education, employment, housing, licensing, and general research questions.

Yes. Ask Gideon is designed to help explain current developments such as new laws, Sentencing Commission changes, new cases, and BOP policy developments, and to help identify whether those developments may matter based on the facts of a person's case.

Ask Gideon may assist with selected lower-risk documents and procedural items, such as administrative remedies, FOIA requests, status requests, motions for extension of time, and notices of change of address. It is not intended to serve as a general unrestricted court-document generator for full substantive motions, petitions, complaints, or briefs.

The inmate-only plan is $15 per month or $125 per year. The inmate-plus-family plan is $20 per month or $150 per year.

The inmate-only plan includes up to 15 questions per month. The inmate-plus-family plan includes up to 25 questions per month total.

A question means one new substantive question or issue. Reasonable follow-up needed to clarify the same issue may be treated as part of the same question rather than a separate one.

No. Unused questions do not roll over from month to month.

No. Simply adding the Ask Gideon email address in CorrLinks does not activate access. Enrollment must first be completed, payment must be confirmed, and the subscription must be activated in the program records.

Yes, if the inmate is enrolled in the plan that includes one approved family contact.

If you believe registration has already been completed but access is not active, write back with the inmate's full name, register number, and the name of the person who completed the signup so the account can be verified.

Ask Gideon may provide high-level general information about those topics, but it is not intended to provide personalized investment advice, stock recommendations, crypto recommendations, or trading strategies.

Yes. Ask Gideon can answer basic general knowledge and everyday practical questions in plain English. However, the site should make clear that Ask Gideon's specialty remains legal, prison, BOP, post-conviction, and reentry guidance for inmates and families. For medical, mental-health, emergency, tax, financial, or other specialized professional questions, Ask Gideon should provide only general information and direct users to the appropriate professional or emergency resource when needed.

No. Ask Gideon is designed for both inmates and families. Inmate-only plans allow incarcerated users to communicate through approved access methods such as CorrLinks where available. Family plans allow one approved family contact to use the platform as well.

Ask Gideon can explain the type of motion, the general requirements, the issues to consider, and what information may be important. However, Ask Gideon does not create complete fact-specific court pleadings for filing. If a filing requires legal judgment, case-specific strategy, or court representation, the user should consult or retain an attorney.

Yes. Ask Gideon can help explain the BOP administrative remedy process, including informal resolution, BP-9, BP-10, and BP-11 appeals. It can also help users understand how to organize facts, identify deadlines, and explain issues clearly.

Yes. Ask Gideon can provide guidance on prison disciplinary issues, including DHO appeals, incident reports, sanctions, and how to present issues through the administrative process.

No service can guarantee that every legal answer will be perfect or that the law will not change. Ask Gideon is designed to provide helpful legal and prison-related information, but users should verify important information and consult an attorney before making major legal decisions.

Users should include the sentencing court, case number if available, sentence length, projected release date, custody location, relevant dates, and a clear explanation of the issue. For BOP questions, users should include any relevant program review, sentence computation, disciplinary record, detainer information, and administrative remedy history.