by Samantha Melamed
Ever
since the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections announced a new,
unprecedented policy for handling legal mail — part of a wide-ranging
crackdown meant to stanch the flow of drugs into state prisons —
criminal and civil lawyers who represent inmates have been in panic
mode.
Many, including staff lawyers with the Pennsylvania ACLU, the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, and private firms, said they can no longer ethically send confidential documents to clients, given the potential for exposure in the DOC's new protocol. Before, staff opened legal mail in the presence of inmates, searched it for contraband and handed it over; now they photocopy it, still in the inmate's presence, pass on the copy, and preserve the original for 45 days.
"The
practices they've implemented are tremendously disruptive, and in fact
are prohibiting a lot of lawyers from being able to use the mail to
communicate with their clients," said Pennsylvania ACLU legal director
Vic Walczak.
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Source: The Inquirer (Daily News)
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