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The Austin Police Department has a long history of troubled community relations. There are many reasons for local citizens to have trust issues with this police force, and now there are many more.
It looks like four Austin criminal defense lawyers and two advocacy groups have beat back efforts to dismiss their lawsuit that alleged lawyers’ confidential phone calls with incarcerated clients are being recorded and given to prosecutors.
Among other things, the lawyers claimed that their incomes have suffered since they would travel to the jail to avoid prejudicing their clients’ cases by talking on the phone.
“The undersigned agrees that being forced to conduct in-person visits, rather than quick and inexpensive telephone calls, demonstrates concrete injury. … What previously could be accomplished in a 10-minute phone call necessitates a potentially hours-long journey,” wrote U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Lane in a report and recommendations in Austin Lawyers Guild v. Securus Technologies.
A U.S. district judge must accept the magistrate judge’s recommendations to make the ruling official.
Defendant Securus Technologies Inc. contracts with Travis County to provide telephone service for the county’s correctional facilities. The plaintiffs also sued Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton, District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg and County Attorney David Hamilton and each of their offices. The defendants have denied the allegations.
Read more: http://www.texaslawyer.com/id=1202717562467/Lawyers-Score-Win-in-Recorded-Jail-Calls-Lawsuit#ixzz3RRybAlCn
