Search | Prison Phone Justice

Audit Finds California Prison Receiver Broke State Law by Making No-Bid Contracts with Verizon

Article • September 15, 2009 • from PLN September, 2009

Filed under: DOC/BOP misconduct, Telephones, Telephone Rates

telephone and data lines. While the audit concluded that the state could not be certain that Prison Health Care Services had spent $26.7 million in public funds “prudently” or that it had received the test ...

Contraband Smuggling by Texas Prison Guards Rarely Punished Harshly

Article • September 15, 2009 • from PLN September, 2009

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Criminal Prosecution, Telephone Access

Contraband Smuggling by Texas Prison Guards Rarely Punished Harshly by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke A review conducted by a Houston newspaper concluded that a large quantity and variety of contraband is still being smuggled into Texas prisons by state prison guards, and those caught smuggling rarely receive harsh punishment. …

Florida’s Private Prisons Still Lack Meaningful Oversight

Article • August 15, 2009 • from PLN August, 2009

Filed under: Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Telephones, Telephone Rates

violations, it will train its staff in prison-related operation and management, private prisons will be accountable for performance of their programs, telephone rates will be set comparable to public prisons ...

Illinois Court of Appeals: Prisoner Has Standing to Sue Ameritech for Fraud

Article • August 15, 2009 • from PLN August, 2009

Filed under: Standing, Telephones, Telephone Rates

Illinois Court of Appeals: Prisoner Has Standing to Sue Ameritech for Fraud by On July 1, 2008, an Illinois Court of Appeals held that a prisoner had standing to bring a claim against Ameritech for consumer fraud. Johnnie Flournoy, an Illinois state prisoner at the Joliet Correctional Center, filed suit …

Nebraska: Tape-Recorded, Restricted-Calling Prison Telephone System Passes Constitutional Muster

Article • August 15, 2009 • from PLN August, 2009

Filed under: Injunctions, Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Monitoring

Nebraska: Tape-Recorded, Restricted-Calling Prison Telephone System Passes Constitutional Muster by John Dannenberg by John E. Dannenberg The Nebraska Court of Appeals has upheld ...

Connecticut Settles Overcrowding Suit

Article • July 15, 2009

Filed under: Overcrowding, Eighth Amendment, Settlements, Class Certification, Telephones, Telephone Access

the suit agreeing to, among other things, eliminate dormitory housing in a former card room, cap housing in each cell to no more than two prisoners, provide indoor and outdoor recreation, one telephone call ...

Outrageous phone rates devastate families of prisoners

Article • July 15, 2009

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates

with their families and their communities. What's more, because the chance to speak with a loved one is perhaps the most important privilege a prisoner enjoys, officials condition telephone access on a clean prison ...

No Fourth Amendment Violation for Monitoring Attorney-Client Conversations

Article • July 15, 2009

Filed under: Police Searches, Criminal Prosecution, Conspiracy, Attorney Client, Attorney Misconduct, Telephones, Attorney Calls, Telephone Monitoring

No Fourth Amendment Violation for Monitoring Attorney-Client Conversations by When a prisoner consents to the monitoring of calls over a jailhouse telephone, no Fourth Amendment violation ...

Report Says New Mexico Prison Phone Companies Still Gouging Families

Article • June 15, 2009 • from PLN June, 2009

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates

Report Says New Mexico Prison Phone Companies Still Gouging Families by Dave Maass Report Says New Mexico Prison Phone Companies Still Gouging Families by Dave Maass The phone is ringing; you pick it up. An operator announces it’s a collect call – your spouse, sibling, child – from prison. Will …

BOP Settles Suit Over Telephone Access, Electronic FOIA Claims

Article • June 15, 2009 • from PLN June, 2009

Filed under: Administrative Exhaustion, Disclosure of Records, Freedom of Information Act, Telephones, Telephone Access

BOP Settles Suit Over Telephone Access, Electronic FOIA Claims by The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has agreed to settle another lawsuit brought by PLN contributing writer, Brandon Sample.The ...

Indiana Court Denies Challenge to Monopolistic Prison Phone Contracts

Article • June 15, 2009 • from PLN June, 2009

Filed under: Telephones, Telephone Rates, Contractor Liability

by families and friends of prisoners who challenged prison telephone contracts as monopolistic and prison phone rates as oppressive. The appellate court held that it was not illegal for the Indiana Department ...

Washington DOC - JPay Contract 2009-2012

Kickback publication • 2009

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

for the facility related to the affected Service, via telephone, paging and confirmatory email or fax. In an Emergency where there is a potential danger of destruction of a material portion of Contractor's Equipment ...

Design of Prison Telephone Held Not To Infringe Patent

Article • April 15, 2009

Filed under: Telephone Access, Intellectual Property (Immunity/Liability), Mental Health, Suicides

Design of Prison Telephone Held Not To Infringe Patent by On June 18, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a judgment of non-infringement in a patent dispute over ...

California Class-Action Suit Reinstates $1.5 Million Illegally Siphoned From County Jail Inmate Welfare Fund

Article • April 15, 2009 • from PLN April, 2009

Filed under: Money/Property, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Trust Accounts, Telephone Rates

ordered put in place for five years. Moreover, any kickbacks from telephone companies (estimated at $200,000) were to be paid to the IWF, not to the SCC general fund. Finally, the 21 page settlement ...

$7.5 Million Fine Recommended in Florida Jail Phone Overcharges

Article • April 15, 2009 • from PLN April, 2009

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Contractor Misconduct, Telephone Rates

. (TCG) pay $7.5 million for the improper disconnection of jail prisoners’ telephone calls. The recommendation was made in a September 8, 2008 memorandum following an investigation into complaints made ...

Texas, New Jersey Prison Staff Prosecuted for Cell Phone Smuggling

Article • April 15, 2009 • from PLN April, 2009

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Cell Phone Access

Texas, New Jersey Prison Staff Prosecuted for Cell Phone Smuggling by On October 20, 2008, the entire Texas prison system was locked down and searched for cell phones and other contraband. The search resulted in the discovery of hundreds of cell phones, chargers, SIM cards, tobacco stashes and weapons. [See: …

Suit Filed Over Minnesota Jail’s Secret Recording of Privileged Phone Calls

Article • April 15, 2009 • from PLN April, 2009

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Criminal Prosecution, Attorney Client, Attorney Calls, Telephone Monitoring

Suit Filed Over Minnesota Jail’s Secret Recording of Privileged Phone Calls by Matthew Clarke Suit Filed Over Minnesota Jail’s Secret Recording of Privileged Phone Calls by Matt Clarke On October 15, 2008, a Minneapolis law firm filed a civil rights suit in federal district court alleging that attorney-client phone calls …

Entire Texas Prison System Locked Down to Search for Phones; Prison Cell Phone Problem is Pandemic

Article • March 15, 2009 • from PLN March, 2009

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Prison/Common Area Searches, Criminal Prosecution, Lockdowns, Telephone Access, Death Row, State Legislation

prisoners regular access to telephones so they can call their families. Although the state has signed a contract to have phones installed at all TDCJ facilities, the installation is not expected ...

State v. Pena-Flores, NJ, AG Letter Urging Postponment Pending Telephone Warrant System (2009)

Brief • March 9, 2009

Filed under: Search warrants, Telephones, Telephone Access

State v. Pena-Flores, NJ, AG Letter Urging Postponment Pending Telephone Warrant System (2009) Mutt of New :_qtrzeg OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DEPARTMENT OF LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY PO Box 080 NJ ...

Ninth Circuit Upholds Admission of Statements to Police in Phone Conversation Absent Miranda Warning

Article • February 15, 2009

Filed under: Criminal Prosecution, Crime, Habeas Corpus, Telephones, Telephone Monitoring

Ninth Circuit Upholds Admission of Statements to Police in Phone Conversation Absent Miranda Warning by Washington State prisoner Habib Saleh sought review of his federal habeas corpus denial challenging the admission of statements made in a voluntary phone conversation he initiated at his trial for first degree murder. The court …