Does a prisoner have a constitutional right of access to the courts?

[5] Prisoners have a constitutional right of access to the courts. See Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. 817, 821 (1977). Under the First Amendment, a prisoner has both a right to meaning-

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ful access to the courts and a broader right to petition the government for a redress of his grievances. See Bradley v. Hall, 64 F.3d 1276, 1279 (9th Cir. 1995) (overruled on other grounds by Shaw v. Murphy, 523 U.S. 223, 230 n.2 (2001)). "In some instances, prison authorities must even take affirmative steps to help prisoners exercise their rights." Id.