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County Promises Clear Inmate Access For Attorneys Following ‘Secret’ Memo
May 13, 2014
Attorneys will have clear access to inmates being held in county facilities now used as part of the Escambia County Jail, according to memo issued Monday by the county attorney.
Attorneys complained they were denied access to inmates at the Escambia County Road Prison over the weekend due to a “secret” memo that ordered shift supervisors to only allow listed attorneys of record and those from the public defender’s or State Attorney’s office to see inmates, Ricksblog.biz reported Monday morning. The memo was written by Escambia Road Prison Commander C.S. Snow.
The memo instructed road prison employees to search the Clerk of Court’s website to determine if an attorney was assigned to a case prior to allowing them to visit with an inmate. “Let’s make sure they are, who they say the are,” the memo stated.
“It should be noted that any inmate can request a legal counsel visit with a specific attorney of his choosing and the visit should be granted according to each inmates specific request,” Snow also wrote.
“This memorandum will shall not be copied or distributed to anyone without a properly signed and requested public records request through proper legal channels,” Snow instructed staff.
Escambia County responded with a statement Monday afternoon that County Attorney’s Office is working directly with Corrections officials and attorneys who believe they may have encountered unreasonable obstacles trying to visit or communicate with an inmate.
“A memorandum issued to Road Camp personnel concerning attorney visits with inmates was a result of increased requests from attorneys for client visitation. The Road Camp Prison and Work Release facility were not set up to facilitate attorney/client visits at the level that they were being requested,” the news release stated.
The release encouraged any attorney with concerns regarding their ability to communicate with inmates in the Escambia County Corrections Department to contact the County Attorney’s Office at (850) 595-4970.
Some attorneys claimed the county was attempting to block inmate access to attorneys for legal advice about any possible civil case following the jail explosion that killed two inmates and injured 184 people, including both corrections employees and inmates.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
23 Responses to “County Promises Clear Inmate Access For Attorneys Following ‘Secret’ Memo”
I have the utmost respect for the position but to use the word correctional is a joke.
You watch and maintain them and get very little recognition for it.
Personally, “Guard” does not offend me, but to be factual, the job title is “Correctional Officer”, not “Guard”. Some people like to be called what they are rather than a term that means other things as well as “guarding” someone.
This whole thing is such a mess. If everyone would just come together and work together everyone would be better off. It sucks for all concerned trust me I know first hand. It breaks my heart that Escambia County is more worried about lawsuits than about RECOVERY for all involved. I can say this I am dealing with this nightmare daily. I am thankful for Sgt Boswell and the fact he has a giant heart and lots of compassion. The camp didn’t ask to be burdened by this but neither did the inmates. It has been a miserable 14 days for all involved. The ones making it worse will have to answer for their actions. Let’s work together so we can be on the road to recovery. Thoughts and prayers to everyone going through this nightmare.
g,
The term “guard” is not disrespectful.
No need to be hypersensitive or mock Wallmart employees.
THEY deserve respect too.
David for electronic guards
and unoffended correctional officers
Man I’m glad we have so many people commenting on something they know NOTHING about. Half of you fools don’t know the law. Heck one forth of you could not even read the law and make sence of it. Attorneys (no matter the type) are QUALIFIED persons that practice the law. Most officers don’t even understand the law. I don’t ask my plumber for medical advice. Do you? The truth always shows itself in the end. I’m just glad my dad (an attorney) is safe and nothing happen while he was seeing a client, defendant, or whoever else he has to visit. It’s very sad we all have to focus on the bs and can’t come together as a community and HELP with the situation at hand. Let’s all just throw stones at each other and watch it get better!
It sounds like Commander Snow is doing a fine job of keeping the orderly running of his institution while providing guidance to keep unauthorized personnel OUT. Good job, Commander Snow!
Last time i checked “guards”worked at Walmart or the mall. You bust your butt day and night and alot of weekends to get your certification to do there job that no one wants any part of and u people can give them any respect.
Good to see Mr. Snows guards on here defending him.
I see nothing wrong with this email, business must be conducted in structured environments no matter what “business” that may be.
Mr. Snow said he’d answer any questions “upon his return.” So does this mean no questions are answered until then? Wow!!
I didn’t find anything that disturbing about the letter and my loved one is in camp. He never denied anyone a visit from their attorney handling their criminal case. What makes me mad is that they are already over populated there, they have revoked the visitations for the people who have been at that camp repaying their debt busting their butts rebuilding this county And these “ambulance chasers” as you have called them think that they should have the right to come in and see an inmate when we can’t see our family members. So what your an attorney…. I’m A nurse can I come in and check on them? Just sayin.
I see no problem with this. With inmates being shuffled all over the place they are trying to keep everything in order. And I believe someone else called it- ambulance chasers.
It is a matter of course for most government entities, as well as private businesses and other organizations to have in place a policy that prohibits general publication of internal memoranda without requestors utilizing proper requesting procedures. This is not a “secret memo”.
Commander Snow is requiring that the proper legal process for requesting public records per the Freedom of Information Act be used.
(If this were the Whitehouse, it would probably come with instructions to “read,
destroy, and deny its existence.”)
If these “lawyers” (not to be confused with an attorney, to me they are not the same thing) want to see their “client” let them represent them all the way. No public defenders that we have to pay for. That should slow down to flow of “lawyers” wanting to get into the public trough. If the person is their “client” let them represent on any and all cases before the court.
Again Melinda, he did his job. Not one stitch of wording in that memo limits any of the inmate rights to see his assigned lawyer. If they had 22 request for visits as the other articles stated, it would have taken less time to allow the visits than do all the correct research to make sure the lawyers were assigned to each case. Take the drama somewhere else and study the law.
Mr. Snow and whom ever ordered the inmates right to have access to their attorney or public defender should be at the least reprimanded for their actions!
Seems to me applause is in order for the commander. Looks like he did his research before he issued that “secret” memo! First things first tho, NO record or paper generated by the county in any department is “secret”. A public records request can be obtained for anything you want to see. Only the federal goverment has the right to classify documents according to national security. Secondly, being associated with “ambulance chasing” lawyers for years, it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out what the scumbag lawyers are doing here. It is. against the law to do what they are doing, so guess what, they lie and stir the proverbial pot through media outlets that no longer fact check any of thier desiminated information to the public. If they did, they would have found that the laws cited in the articles were meant for criminal clients only. Civil representation is not a constitutionally held right. Dont think im correct? Then ask yourself, self, why didnt they appoint my dad a lawyer when he went through his divorce. Answer is you dont get representation unless it involves your parental rights being taken from you concerning your children, and only then in certain instances! So if what they are saying is correct, if you were locked up for a petty crime and couldnt afford bond, it would be perfectly fine for them to allow every paid attorney to visit him knowing he didnt have $100 dollars to pay his bond!! Come on people, get a grip and study a little bit on top of using good common sense.
Mr Snow made a good call. Safety and security of the prison has to be taken into account. It takes time to make adjustments after something like this and they seem to be doing everything possible to get things in order. With hundreds of inmates displaced I’m sure they are concerned with the wrong people trying to get to these inmates just to get a story. Well done officers for all you have done the last few weeks
The memo seems straight forward. Legal council may visit his/her client. We do no less when we write a check at Wal-mart, right? You are who you say you are.
Someone is playing some stupid ” I was denied” game and they were most likely not someone’s attorney.
To me, Commander Snow gave very good detailed instructions for his staff to verify that an inmates rights were protected and was not harassed from someone who is not his legal council.
Personally, I see nothing amiss with the memo. It was just internal correspondence giving guidance to his leadership team. Sounds like the Road Camp has been inundated with visit requests from “ambulance chasers”.
Good call Mr. Snow, of course the media will spin this into something it’s not. What happens in a situation like this is an individual claiming to be an attorney , when actually they are trying to get an interview to cash in on a story. Funny thing is most incarcerated individuals at the Road Camp complain their attorneys won’t come see them out there.
Ya Vol mein commandant!
Where is Snow receiving his orders? I believe the last paragraph will answer that.
And it begins !