PROVIDENCE – The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island Inc. is suing the R.I. Department of Corrections for allegedly violating the constitutional right of prisoners and their attorneys to share information confidentially.
The lawsuit, filed in R.I. Superior Court Wednesday, alleges that RIDOC has informally adopted a new practice governing attorney mail and visits in the past year, which has allowed RIDOC staff to “repeatedly take custody of written communications between prisoners and their legal representatives and subject them to inspection and copying out of the presence of the prisoner and/or the legal representative," the lawsuit said.
“For some time, RIDOC has had in place formally adopted policies governing attorney mail and visits,” the ACLU said in a statement. “Those policies, adopted after public notice and input, acknowledge that ‘privileged mail,’ whether it is incoming or outgoing, cannot be read by RIDOC staff, and that incoming privileged mail can only be opened and inspected for contraband ‘in the presence of the inmate.’ ”
The lawsuit further alleges that the “new protocols and practices are not uniform, are not consistently applied by RIDOC correctional staff, and fail to accord prisoners and their legal representatives” the protections that their formally promulgated policies guarantee.
Numerous examples of the alleged violations are listed in the lawsuit, including attorney Sonja Deyoe being required to give legal documents to staffers at the maximum-security facility, where the documents were taken outside of her presence before being returned.
“We, as lawyers, have an obligation to maintain privileged communications with our clients,” Deyoe said. “The fact that some bad actors may be trying to smuggle drugs into the prison does not excuse the actions of RIDOC, which make it impossible for us to exercise those privileges. The attorney-client privilege is vital to providing a proper legal representation to any client. It is the bedrock on which our system is formed.”
The lawsuit also cites an incident involving Rep. David Morales, D-Providence, who mailed letters to prisoners with a survey asking about their experiences in solitary confinement. RIDOC staff intercepted those letters, inspected them and withheld them for about two weeks before distributing them to the prisoners, the ACLU alleges.
The ACLU also alleges RIDOC’s new practices violate state law requiring state agencies to adopt rules and regulations only in accordance with a public-involved rulemaking process. The complaint says that almost 40 years ago, RIDOC entered into a settlement agreement acknowledging that any changes to visiting and mail rules were subject to public notice.
J.R. Ventura, spokesperson for the R.I. Department of Corrections, told Providence Business New on Wednesday that the RIDOC takes attorney-client privileges seriously, but also cited the need for safety and security.
“We have a public policy clearly outlining attorney visits and correspondence procedures with incarcerated persons,” Ventura said. "The approved policy states that we can search correspondence for contraband, sealed envelopes will be opened, and the contents will not read by staff ... With a drastic spike in the number of overdose cases and overdose deaths in prisons all over the country, those in custody depend on correctional institutions to keep them safe."
(UPDATE: Adds comment from RIDOC in 9th and 10th paragraphs)
