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 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.

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Written by James C. Lowery

Photograph By: Mikeal Karlsson/Alamy

Tracking and monitoring inmates within a prison or jail is a constant challenge, especially when it comes to overseeing their communication with the public.  Although frequent communication with an inmate’s support group is encouraged in order to improve the probability of successful community re-entry, there is still a large group of inmates that continue to commit crimes by utilizing the inmate telephones.  The safety of the community, correctional officers and the inmate population is at stake, and it is up to inmate communications providers to develop effective solutions to meet these continuing challenges.

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Written by James C. Lowery

An Advanced Solution for Inmate Visitation

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Written by Cyrus Heravi

A recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruling 13-113 places a 21 cent per minute limit on interstate prepaid calls and a 25 cent per minute on interstate collect calls.

FCC Rule 13-113 Background

Like most industries today, the inmate communications industry is experiencing a shift in business as usual. The days of exorbitantly high calling rates and rejected calls to friends and family who cannot afford a simple phone conversation­­— these days are coming to an end. While we at Legacy believe that affordable rates for friends and family is essential to inmate rehabilitation and a healthier community, the new FCC ruling does present new challenges for the corrections industry and the vendors who provide secure communication services.

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