Search | Prison Phone Justice

Authorities Listen in on Attorney-Client Calls at Jails in FL, CA and TX

Article • August 15, 2008 • from PLN August, 2008

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Telephones, Attorney Calls, Telephone Monitoring

Department claimed the attorney calls had been recorded due to an “inadvertent glitch” in the phone system, according to the Union Tribune. The system was not supposed to record calls placed to phone numbers ...

Right to Consult, Hire Counsel Well Established and Constitutionally Protected

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Attorney Client, Attorney Calls, Qualified Immunity, Mail, Legal Mail, Attorney Visits

Right to Consult, Hire Counsel Well Established and Constitutionally Protected by At 953-54: The right to hire and consult an attorney is protected by the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech, association and petition. ... It has long been recognized that the First Amendment prohibits the state from interfering …

New York Prison System Phone Kickbacks Upheld; Reversed by Court of Appeals

Article • August 15, 2008

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

New York Prison System Phone Kickbacks Upheld; Reversed by Court of Appeals by A New York Supreme Appellate Court has sidestepped ruling on the merits of a lawsuit claiming that the practice of the New York Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) of receiving a commission from prisoner phone calls was …

Wisconsin County Bans Profiteering in Jail Phone Contracts

Article • July 15, 2008 • from PLN July, 2008

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates, State Legislation

contracts for jail telephone services. The ordinance requires that jail phone contracts (1) must not generate revenue to the county and (2) must be awarded to the lowest bidder consistent with public safety ...

Nevada Criminalizes Cell Phones in State Prisons

Article • June 15, 2008 • from PLN June, 2008

Filed under: Telephone Access, News, State Legislation

Nevada Criminalizes Cell Phones in State Prisons by On May 10, 2007, Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons signed into law AB-106, a bill making it a felony for prisoners to possess a cell phone in prison or for a person to furnish a prisoner with a cell phone. Anyone charged with …

Monitoring and Limiting Phone Calls by Kansas Prisoners Upheld

Article • May 15, 2008

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Attorney Calls, Telephone Monitoring

to contact such "privileged persons" on a case by case basis. These calls are subject to monitoring. Courts are divided over whether there is any First Amendment right to telephone access at all. The court ...

Alabama DOC Charges Prisoners Unlawful Fees to Cover Budget Shortfalls

Article • May 15, 2008 • from PLN May, 2008

Filed under: Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Money/Property, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Telephone Rates

Alabama DOC Charges Prisoners Unlawful Fees to Cover Budget Shortfalls by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On June 1, 2007, the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts released an audit report critical of the funding practices of the state's Department of Corrections (DOC). The DOC operates 19 prisons, 10 …

Ohio Prison Employee Loses Suit Over Supervisor Bugging Her Desk

Article • May 15, 2008

Filed under: Retaliation against Staff, Title VII, Telephone Monitoring, Guards/Staff, Employee Litigation

Ohio Prison Employee Loses Suit Over Supervisor Bugging Her Desk by The plaintiff civilian employee found a microphone by her desk; her supervisor admitted he had bugged her because he thought there were racial problems in the office. He was suspended; nothing happened to her. She had no claim against …

Court Upholds Photocopying of Jail Prisoner’s Mail, Suppression Denied

Article • May 15, 2008

Filed under: Searches, Police Searches, Criminal Prosecution, Telephone Monitoring, Mail Regulations, Legal Mail

, both incoming and outgoing." The court distinguishes telephone monitoring cases because in those the monitoring was done pursuant to an ongoing security-related program. At 292: "No case holds ...

AT&T Settlement Includes Fines, Reimbursement for Overcharging Recipients of Phone Calls From Washington Prisoners

Article • March 15, 2008 • from PLN March, 2008

Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, Telephone Rates, Immunity/Liability, Contractor Liability

for Overcharging Recipients of Phone Calls From Washington Prisoners by Michael Rigby Telephone service provider AT&T has agreed to reimburse the families and friends of Washington prisoners who were overcharged ...

"Let Freedom Ring" -- Cellphones Abound In California Prisons

Article • February 15, 2008 • from PLN February, 2008

Filed under: Crime, Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

"Let Freedom Ring" -- Cellphones Abound In California Prisons by Over 1,000 cellphones and Blackberrys were confiscated in California's 33 prisons in the past year. While such contraband was at a trickle seven years ago, the technology has reduced the size of these items to permit a veritable flood today …

CA Prisoner's Convictions for Conspiracy to Smuggle Drugs Vacated for Bad Jury Instructions

Article • January 15, 2008

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Conspiracy, Jury Instructions, Telephones, Telephone Monitoring

CA Prisoner's Convictions for Conspiracy to Smuggle Drugs Vacated for Bad Jury Instructions by Jaime Jasso, a California state prisoner, made several phone calls to someone outside of prison named Ruben. Guards monitored those calls and discovered that their purpose was for Passo to give Ruben directions for obtaining drugs …

Eighth Circuit Holds State Funding of Iowa Faith-Based Prison Unconstitutional

Article • January 15, 2008 • from PLN January, 2008

Filed under: Injunctions, Telephones, Telephone Rates, Required Religious Programming, Proselytizing

the state used money from prison telephone kickbacks and the state tobacco lawsuit settlement fund to partially fund the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, an 18-24 month biblically-based program that seeks ...

Scottish Court Holds Prison Phone Call Imprinting Violates European Convention On Human Rights

Article • December 15, 2007 • from PLN December, 2007

Filed under: International, International Law, Telephone Access, Telephone Monitoring

Scottish Court Holds Prison Phone Call Imprinting Violates European Convention On Human Rights by Lord Glennie of the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Scotland ruled that the blanket policy of imprinting all prisoner originated phone calls with the warning, "This call originates from a Scottish prison" violated the European Convention …

Connecticut Prisoners’ Families Gouged on Phone Calls

Article • December 15, 2007 • from PLN December, 2007

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

Connecticut Prisoners’ Families Gouged on Phone Calls by Connecticut Prisoners' Families Gouged on Phone Calls Until recently, most Connecticut Department of Correction (CDOC) prisoners were forced to make phone calls using an MCI (Verizon Business) collect calling system at rates much higher than those charged to the general public. Under …

Using Jail Phones After Verbal and Posted Warnings of Recording Implies Consent

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Telephones, Telephone Monitoring

Using Jail Phones After Verbal and Posted Warnings of Recording Implies Consent by California detainee David Windham appealed a decision holding that recordings of jail-placed phone conversations were lawful and could be used for conviction purposes. Windham asked his girlfriend for money while shopping. She refused and he followed her …

Texas Last State in Union to Get Prison Phones

Article • November 15, 2007 • from PLN November, 2007

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Victims, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates, State Legislation

prisoner telephones in state prisons. State Senator Letica Van de Putte filed SD 1580, authorizing the phones, which took effect Nay 15, 2007. State Representatives Terri Hodge (D-Dallas) and Pat Haggerty (R ...

GAO Audit: Alien Detention Facilities Suffer Continuing Deficiencies

Article • October 15, 2007 • from PLN October, 2007

Filed under: Government Misconduct, Overcrowding, Attorneys, Attorney Client, Stun Guns/Tasers, Dogs, Immigration, Telephone Access, Attorney Calls

. These included telephone access, medical care, holding room procedures, use of force, food service, recreation, access to legal materials and grievance procedures. The most persistent problem was inadequate ...

Government Segregates Muslim Prisoners Restricts Phone Calls and Visits

Article • July 15, 2007

Filed under: Political Prisoners, Religious Discrimination, Administrative Procedures Act (Federal), Interpreters, Telephones, Telephone Access, Attorney Calls, Telephone Monitoring, Mail Regulations, Federal Legislation

Management Unit (CMU), and is located in the medium security federal prison at Terre Haute, Indiana. Its occupants are almost entirely Muslims. Under the CMU program, telephone communications must ...

More Settlements and Verdicts in New Hampshire False Disciplinary Charge Case

Article • July 15, 2007 • from PLN July, 2007

Filed under: Witnesses (Disciplinary Hearings), Notice of Charges, False Charges (Disciplinary Hearings), Toilets, Hygiene Supplies, Reading Materials, Telephones, Telephone Access, Supervisory Liability

material of any kind, writing materials, access to their legal papers, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper, the ability to receive or send mail, use of a telephone, or visits. The water ...