Jail email.

• Author: Morrisey, Brittany
• Position: Prison privacy rulings - Brief article

Jailhouse conversations between an inmate and his or her attorney have generally been protected from being recorded and subsequently used against a defendant in court. But does that right extend to exchanges between inmates and their lawyers via email?

Different judges have issued opposite rulings. In a case before the Brooklyn Federal Court in New York, Judge Allyne Ross ruled that emails sent by the defendant from prison to his attorney could be used as evidence against alleged mob boss Thomas "Tommy D" DiFiore. The judge reasoned that having prosecutors look through DiFiore's prison emails did not "unreasonably interfere" with his attorney-client privilege because he had other ways available for communicating with his attorney. Ross also noted that inmates are informed that they waive...