6 days ago
Nonprofit law firm sues Ohio corrections department over handling of inmates' legal mail
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A method some Ohio prisons use to prevent drugs from being trafficked into facilities through the mail is being challenged in court, with a nonprofit law firm claiming it invades inmates' privacy.
The Ohio Justice and Policy Center filed a lawsuit on May 6 against senior managers of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction over the screening of mail between inmates and their attorneys.
'The paramount aspect of an attorney-client relationship is trust,' said Gabe Davis, OJPC Chief Executive Officer. 'This policy undermines that trust and opens the door for private correspondence to be viewed with total disregard for our client's civil rights and our First Amendment rights. We are suing the department because this has to stop now.'
At the center of the lawsuit is the department's 'Legal Mail Policy Variance,' which instructs prison staff to make a photo copy of legal mail in front of the inmate it is addressed to, then give them the copy and shred the original.
The practice is intended to secure legal mail and ensure contraband does not enter prisons. The policy was introduced at four of the 28 prisons the state oversees in winter and spring of 2024, including the Southern Ohio Correctional Institution, Marion Correctional Institution, Lebanon Correctional Institution and Ross Correctional Institution.
'The Legal Mail Policy Variance replaces a brief process of opening and inspecting legal mail with an extended process of copying and shredding that allows for many opportunities to read confidential legal mail,' the filing reads.
The lawsuit alleges the policy has resulted in at least one confirmed instance of a staff member reading an inmates' legal mail, which was copied out of the incarcerated person's presence.
The nonprofit law firm claims in the suit that it often receives mail from inmates containing allegations of misconduct by specific corrections officers, which could lead to retaliation if read by the employee.
'If our clients can't trust that they can be fully honest with us, we can't do our jobs,' said Lizett Martinez Schreiber, the managing attorney with OJPC. 'As attorneys, we have a duty to maintain trust. If the incarcerated people we work with feel like their mail is being monitored they won't be as transparent in their letters, fearing repercussions.'
Other mail in Ohio prisons are opened and scanned by staff, before being delivered to inmates on an electronic tablet. The lawsuit only addresses legal mail practices, and does not challenge the handling of any other kind of mail.
Drugs known as K2 or Spice, a synthetic cannabinoid, can be sprayed onto paper, incorporated into ink and otherwise concealed within mail, according to the chemical detection company 908 Devices. This can make it difficult to detect drugs visually, therefore many prisons have moved to photocopying mail in recent years.
The civil rights suit claims the legal mail policy violates inmates First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, including their rights to freedom of speech and due process. The legal filing seeks to require the four correctional institutions to halt this policy and return to its original process.
A spokeswoman for Ohio's corrections department said the state agency does not comment on pending litigation.
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