Written By: Curtis A Brown and Allyson Walker
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Legacy Inmate Communications, a leading provider
of inmate communication services to several hundred correctional facilities
throughout the United States, has issued its response to last week’s decision
by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to further limit the cost of
phone calls from jails and prisons. The new law will affect all types of inmate
calls.
Legacy
Believes there are Serious Legal Questions Regarding the FCC’s Jurisdiction to
Regulate In-State Inmate Call Rates More...
Written
by James Lowery
As
Legacy has communicated to our valued clients for the past several months, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has
been considering proposing new rate regulations
on all inmate calling.
As a recap, in
2013 the FCC capped interstate calling rates at $0.25 for collect calls and
$0.21 for prepaid calls (FCC
13-113). Now, in partnership with Commissioner Clyburn, Chairman Wheeler is
proposing to cap rates for all ICS calls –
local, long-distance, and international – while limiting fees on calls. More...
Written
by Allyson Walker
Images
by KXAN.com and Joe Mahoney/Rocky Mountain PBS I-News
Recent
news about a federal lawsuit against the Travis County Sheriff’s Office provides a
fresh reminder of how important it is for correctional facilities to make
absolutely sure their inmates’ privileged phone calls and other
communications are not recorded... or it could cost them.
The suit
claims that the Texas facility violated client-attorney privileges by recording constitutionally protected calls between inmates and their defense lawyers which were
supposed to be confidential.
While it
may represent the most recent occurrence, it is by no means the first. Privileged
conversations between inmates and lawyers have been wrongly recorded at multiple
facilities across the country (Davidson
County, TN, Alameda
County, CA, and the
Alaska Department of Corrections, just to name a few.) More...
Written
by: Curtis A Brown
Photograph by: Credit Daniel Rosenbaum for The
New York Times
FCC 13-113 Overview
On
August 9, 2013 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a new rule, FCC 13-113, which imposes a strict inmate interstate call
rate cap. The new rule, which will
affect only calls made from one state to another, requires inmate communication
providers to charge no more than $0.21 per minute for interstate prepaid calling
and $0.25 per minute for interstate collect calling. It also suggests that further regulation may
be still to come, including ancillary charges as well as video visitation
services. Furthermore, the FCC strongly
recommends that the states themselves adopt new regulation capping inmate call
rates. Many of our clients have asked if
further regulation is on the horizon and what they can expect in the coming
months.
More...