legal mail is confidential mail
mail between an attorney and a state prison inmate/client receives special confidential treatment by the department. of corrections & rehabilitation, as guaranteed by Penal Code section 2601, subdivision (b), provided the conditions are met.
beware of the possible dangers / abuses of legal mail
However, there are some dangers to be aware of. items sent to the inmate/client by an attorney must not cause the inmate to violate cdcr rules. (there are the obvious ones, obscene things, etc., or the not so obvious ones, things related to a lottery or photos). the attorney must ensure that no metal (including staples and other metal paper fasteners) is included in an inmate’s mail. if a document in legal mail is stapled or fastened with metal, the offending metal will be removed in front of the inmate.
Attorney mail should not be used for general correspondence unrelated to legal representation. (a gentle reminder to your client may deter some of this, or a referral to a buddy show By correspondence). and, in accordance with the regulations, an inmate is not allowed to send the attorney’s correspondence to be forwarded to another person. (if the inmate sends something to the attorney with a request to forward it to another, the attorney should inform the client that it will not be forwarded and ask the client if it should be destroyed or returned. the attorney should also determine if it would be appropriate to return it by confidential mail , or by non-confidential mail only, and inform the inmate before any of the provisions are chosen). See California Code of Regulations Title 15 Section 3141(b) regarding the use of confidential status as a conduit for non-privileged communications. worse yet, you could be subject to discipline by the state bar. (see in re brown matter, 10-o-06727 [state bar ct., filed Dec. 29, 2011 – recommended stay for defense attorney’s actions in extracting jail papers with instructions to serve on his wife and sister-law].)
The bottom line: don’t forward anything from your client to someone else! cdcr considers this to be an abuse of legal mail privilege.
can I send newspapers, books, money, etc.?
There are limitations on how an inmate may receive newspapers, periodicals, and books. they generally must “…come directly from a publisher or mail-order bookstore…” under 15 §3138(f). In other words, the attorney cannot send a client the latest Harry Potter book or a national geographic magazine to help pass the time.
inmates may not possess money. furthermore, inmates may possess only personal property, materials, supplies, articles, merchandise, and substances received or obtained from authorized sources, as permitted in institution procedures. even excessive possession of stamps can become an economic bargaining tool. Sending a customer only self-addressed, postage-paid envelopes avoids any problems.
prohibited content
Furthermore, inmates may not receive obscene writing or publications, or mail containing information on where, how, or from whom such material may be obtained; any matter of a character tending to incite murder, arson, riot, violent racism or any other form of violence; or any matter related to gambling or lottery. (penal code, sec. 2601, subd. (c)(1)(a)-(c).
control regulations
Sections 3141 to 3145 of title 15 generally establish the parties entitled to the confidentiality of communications, how the mail must be marked for confidentiality to apply, and how the department of corrections will process the mail while observing the need for institutional security .
incoming mail
Inmate mail is considered confidential if it comes from sources listed in section 3141, subdivision (c)(1)-(8) [(1) elected or (2) appointed officials, (3) persons in charge of custody of the inmate, (4) county agencies concerned with child custody proceedings, (5) all judges and courts, (6) an attorney registered with a state bar, (7) a certain department. of prison staff as indicated, and (8) legal services organizations: top projects fall into the latter category.
however, an attorney’s name must be included in the return address on the envelope, or the mail will be considered non-confidential. section 3141 also states that “[a] confidentiality notice or request is not required on the envelope.” but, to avoid mistakes, the safest practice is to clearly mark the envelope as “confidential” or “legal mail.”
sending transcripts: postal service versus trackable service?
Transcripts must be returned to the client/inmate through a service such as UPS or another similar service provider that provides both a tracking number and insurance as part of their service. “tracking number” means you are given a parcel number and you can track when it was delivered to the prison. UPS will not deliver to a PO Box address; use the street address for delivery, which is listed in our facility phone book under “shipping address.” The package or box of transcripts must be properly marked with the attorney’s name, return address, and “confidential legal mail.” the sender’s address must match the address in the status bar. chapter 5, article 41 of the cdcr dept. operations (external link) regs “inmate mail” does not say that a box or package cannot be accepted for attorney delivery (there are restrictions on boxes from other sources). If a prison refuses to serve a UPS because of your interpretation of the rules, call that institution’s prison litigation coordinator and ask for help. see also, art. 41, sec. 54010.12.1 “persons with whom inmates may have confidential correspondence.”
Practice Note 1: Advice from an experienced panel attorney: Attach a receipt indicating the number of ct and rt volumes for the client to sign and date, along with a statement with your address and envelope stamp. Almost all clients will return confirmation, and you may answer occasional questions about whether transcripts were sent and/or received.
Practice Note 2: Even when dealing with a copy of client transcripts, attorneys should observe appropriate confidentiality restrictions when submitting pages of transcripts that reveal the address or phone number of a victim or witness in the case. . (Pen Code, Sec. 1054.2.) It is recommended that you extract and copy the relevant pages to keep in your file, then delete the copied pages where necessary and send the redacted transcript to the client. review, for example, probation officer reports, police reports, and trial attorney file notes. Better yet, bookmark or annotate these pages as part of your record review process so you can quickly and easily identify them when you’re ready to send the record to the client at the end of the case.
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