First Amendment and social justice advocates say San Mateo County’s post-COVID policy of destroying and digitizing inmate mail restricts their free speech rights, yet, a county defense attorney says it eliminates the threat of drugs entering the jail.
During a hearing on the lawsuit Dec. 4, defense for the county argued physical mail poses safety and security risks to other incarcerated people and jail personnel, particularly because of the risk of distribution of drugs like fentanyl.
San Mateo County digitized all mail going into jails except attorney communications in 2021, requiring sent mail to be routed through private company Smart Communications, which scans and saves copies of all mail for at least seven years and is accessible to any relevant county personnel for any reason, according to a press release from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
San Mateo County inmates can then only access their mail through a limited number of tablets and digital kiosks, the press release said.
Lawyers from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, and the Social Justice Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit against the county March 9. The lawsuit charges this policy violates inmates’ state constitutional rights to free speech and communication and protections against unlawful search and seizure.
These lawyers represent several plaintiffs, some incarcerated and others who are loved ones of inmates attempting to send them physical letters and educational or religious material.
“Plaintiff Kenneth Roberts finds it difficult to read and respond thoughtfully to scanned letters because of his limited access to tablets, and his inability to underline and revisit portions of letters he wants to respond to. His ability to earn college credit and get certified as a substance abuse counselor for correspondence courses, has also been taken away from him as he was no longer able to complete physical coursework or spend enough time with the readings to absorb the material,” a lawyer from the Knight First Amendment Institute said.
But the defense pointed to rising rates of fentanyl and opioid overdoses in the Bay Area as a compelling reason to keep mail digitized.
“The court can take conditional notice that there is an opioid crisis,” the defense attorney for San Mateo County said. “Fentanyl … can come into jails. It can be in this paper right here — I swear it isn’t — but it could be and none of us would know. In touching it, I could suffer severe physical provocations and even death. Or a drug-sniffing dog sniffing it could die.”
Judge Raymond Swope chose to continue hearing arguments Jan. 31 because he felt the case required more time than the court had allotted.
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Daily Journal staff
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Dirk van Ulden said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
cube_corner said:
Maybe the state government should stop doing everything they can to push out and destroy Silicon Valley and capitalism?
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