Prison Phone Privacy Class Action Lawsuit Filed By Defense Attorneys

Two defense attorneys have filed a class action lawsuit against Securus Technologies Inc. and CoreCivic (formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America Inc.), alleging the companies illegally recorded phone conversations between attorneys and their clients.

Securus is a company that provides telephone and video conferencing services to prisons and jails throughout the United States. CoreCivic is a private corrections management company.

Plaintiffs Adam Crane and David Johnson are both licensed attorneys, according to the prison phone class action lawsuit. Crane is licensed to practice law in Kansas and Johnson is licensed to practice law in Missouri. Their law licenses reportedly allow them to practice in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Crane and Johnson claim they have represented or are currently representing clients detained by the U.S. Marshal Service at a private detention facility located in Leavenworth, Kan. According to the prison phone privacy class action lawsuit, the attorneys had numerous conversations with their clients at the Leavenworth facility, both by phone and in person. Securus reportedly provides the phone and videoconference services at the Leavenworth facility.

The prison phone privacy class action lawsuit alleges Securus and CoreCivic “have been, improperly and without authorization, or consent by either party, recording confidential phone calls and meetings between attorneys, including Plaintiffs Crane, Johnson, and their clients.”

The plaintiffs assert that conversations between attorneys and clients are confidential and should not be recorded. They point to a cease and desist order that was issued by a federal judge in August 2016 which required detention facilities to immediately stop recording face-to-face meetings held in detention facilities, and videoconference and telephone calls between the detainee and his or her legal counsel.

“Attorneys, including Plaintiffs, routinely contact their clients by phone, video conference and/or in person to discuss confidential matters,” the prison phone privacy class action lawsuit states. “They do so with the understanding that their conversations are private. Similarly, detainees understand that in-person and remote conversations with their attorneys are confidential and not recorded.”

In reality, Securus and the Leavenworth facility record attorney-client communications even though there is no legitimate reason to do so, the prison phone privacy class action lawsuit alleges. Crane and Johnson assert that the calls were recorded and stored on a computer server, which law enforcement agencies were able to directly access online.

“They were able to review any recorded call at their leisure,” according to the prison phone privacy class action lawsuit. As a result, Crane and Johnson say the confidential information may be used against their clients and prejudice their cases.

The prison phone privacy class action lawsuit asserts violation of Missouri and Kansas wiretapping statutes.

This is not the first prison phone privacy class action lawsuit that has been filed against Securus. The company was hit with a similar prison call recording class action lawsuit last year in California federal court.

The plaintiffs are represented by Michael Hodgson of The Hodgson Law Firm LLC, Lance D. Sandage of Sandage Law LLC and Joseph K. Eischens of the Law Office of Joseph K. Eischens.

The Prison Call Recording Class Action Lawsuit is Crane, et al. v. CoreCivic, et al., Case No. 2:17-cv-02031, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.

The Securus Class Action Lawsuit was dismissed on January 8, 2018.  Top Class Actions will let our viewers know if a new case is filed.