In Other Media-eg New Statesman, AJE, FP, Georgia, NYT,  Azerbaijan, CSM Click here to contact us     .

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Decrypt - LightRead - Honduras - Source

SDNY COURTHOUSE, April 18 – Amid the Coronavirus pandemic, and as first reported by Inner City Press prior to promulgation, a procotol for video conferencing with New York prisons of the MCC, the MDC in Brooklyn and the GEO / cooperators' private prison in Queens has emerged.

  It does not yet provide for press and public access to video feeds of court proceedings under the CARES Act. Inner City Press is publishing it here:

 "all three facilities shall establish dedicated hours to allow court appearances by telephone and video capability (hereinafter referred to as “videophone”). 

It is understood that both MCC and MDC are currently working to increase videophone capability, but that access to inmates is needed immediately.  Therefore, this protocol sets forth for each facility one plan to begin immediately, and another plan to begin once the videophone equipment is expanded.

a. In the MDC:  MDC shall accommodate up to three one-hour court appearances in the morning and at least six half-hour attorney calls or calls with Pretrial or Probation in the afternoon and evening per floor.  Prior to the expansion of videophone capability, between the hours of 9 AM and 12 noon Monday through Friday one telephone per floor of MDC shall be dedicated for inmates to appear in court proceedings. Between the hours of 1 PM and 3:30 PM, two telephones per floor will be used for Probation and Pretrial interviews and for attorney calls.  After the expansion of videophone capability, each of the floors will be equipped with videophone equipment, which will be used for the court appearances and non-court calls, as discussed above.  The MDC will ensure that the female inmates, who are housed in a separate building, either have a dedicated videophone or can be regularly brought to elsewhere in the institution for court proceedings and non-court calls.  Inmates in the SHU will have the telephone brought to their cells, or they will be brought to the SHU videoconferencing room, for court proceedings and for non-court calls.

b. In the MCC:  Prior to the expansion of videophone capability, the telephone in the unit manager’s office in each unit shall be dedicated for inmates to participate in three one  hour court proceedings in the morning and up to four half-hour  attorney calls and Probation and Pretrial interviews in the afternoon between 1 PM and 3:30 PM.  There is a unit manager’s office equipped with a telephone inside each of the ten housing units at MCC.  After the expansion of videophone capability, eight of the units that have a social visiting room attached to them (which is all of the units except Unit 3, which is currently housing inmates in isolation, and the women’s unit) shall receive a videophone that will be used for court proceedings during the morning and for Probation and Pretrial interviews and attorney calls in the afternoon.  MCC shall accommodate up to three one-hour court appearances in the morning in each room and up to four half-hour attorney calls or calls with Pretrial or Probation in the afternoon in each room.  The MCC will either place a dedicated videophone on the women’s unit or ensure that the female inmates have regular access to another videophone in the institution for court proceedings and non-court calls.  Inmates in the SHU will have a telephone brought to their cells or be brought to the counselor’s office so that they can participate in court proceedings and have scheduled non-court calls.

c. In GEO:  The GEO facility already has two videoconferencing rooms that it can dedicate to remote court appearances in the morning and attorney calls and Probation and Pretrial interviews in the afternoon.  GEO is not expecting to receive additional video conference devices.  At this time, this equipment appears to be sufficient to meet the needs of court and counsel, but this is subject to further review. d. MDC, MCC, and GEO shall keep a log that tracks all attorney calls and Probation and Pretrial interviews, including when the call was requested, when the call was approved, whether the call was attempted, whether the call connected, and the approximate length of each call.

4. After the expansion of videoconference capability at the MCC and MDC, a private room on each floor must be equipped with a telephone, and a videophone to the maximum extent possible, in order to connect to an AT&T Conference Call or other Court provided conference call number and to the Court’s Cisco Videoconference Bridge.  Assuming the technical details can be worked out, the videophone will be used so that court appearances can be facilitated through CourtCall or Cisco Jabber.  To the extent possible, the court conference will be conducted pursuant to a conference call platform that has the ability to provide for both (i) communication between the inmate, the inmate’s counsel, the court, the United States Attorney, the Defendant, and interpreter (if needed) and a court reporter; and (ii) private “breakout sessions” between the inmate and the inmate’s counsel. Should the platform not have that capability, the telephone must be used to provide private breakout sessions between the inmate and counsel.

5. Corrections staff may be present for all public portions of the court appearance.  If the Court permits a private conversation between the inmate and his/her attorney, BOP/GEO staff must exit the room and close the door but may remain outside in a way that allows them to visually monitor the inmate for security reasons." We'll have more on this - watch this site.

***

Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.

Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room 480, front cubicle
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA

Mail: Box 20047, Dag Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017

Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540

Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.

 Copyright 2006-2020 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com for