CHAPTER 361
S.P. 364 - L.D. 1223
An Act to Expand the Monitoring of the Conversations of Prisoners
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §709, sub-§4-A, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 680, §1, is further amended to read:
4-A. Investigative officer. "Investigative officer" means a corrections officer employed by an employee of the Department of Corrections and designated by the Commissioner of Corrections as having the authority to conduct investigations of offenses relating to the security or orderly management of a correctional facility administered by the department.
Sec. 2. 15 MRSA §709, sub-§4-B is enacted to read:
4-B. County jail investigative officer. "County jail investigative officer" means an employee of a county jail designated by the county jail administrator as having the authority to conduct investigations of offenses relating to the security or orderly management of the county jail.
Sec. 3. 15 MRSA §712, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1995, c. 182, §1, is further amended to read:
2. Investigative officers. It is not a violation of this chapter for an investigative officer, as defined in this chapter, or for an employee of the Department of Corrections acting at the direction of an investigative officer, to intercept, disclose or use that communication in the normal course of employment while engaged in any activity which that is a necessary incident to the administration of criminal justice, if:
A. Either the sender or receiver of that communication is a person committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections under a term of imprisonment which is being served residing in a an adult correctional facility administered by the department Department of Corrections; and
B. Notice of the possibility of interception is provided in a way sufficient to make the parties to the communication aware of the possibility of interception; and, which includes:
(1) Providing the resident with a written notification statement;
(2) Posting written notification next to every telephone at the facility that is subject to monitoring; and
(3) Informing the recipient of a telephone call from the resident by playing a recorded warning before the recipient accepts the call.
C. Probable cause exists that a criminal offense related to the security of a correctional facility administered by the department has been, is in the process of being or is about to be committed by a party to the conversation.
(1) Prior to the interception, the grounds for that probable cause shall be documented in a sworn affidavit which shall be submitted to a Judge of the District Court or Justice of the Superior Court to determine if that probable cause exists.
(2) Prior authorization for the submission to the Judge or Justice must be given by the Commissioner of Corrections and the Attorney General.
This subsection shall does not authorize any interference with the attorney-client privilege.
Sec. 4. 15 MRSA §712, sub-§3 is enacted to read:
3. County jail investigative officer. It is not a violation of this chapter for a county jail investigative officer, as defined in this chapter, or for a county jail employee acting at the direction of a county jail investigative officer to intercept, disclose or use that communication in the normal course of employment while engaged in any activity that is a necessary incident to the administration of criminal justice if:
A. Either the sender or the receiver of that communication is a person residing in an adult section of the county jail; and
B. Notice of the possibility of interception is provided in a way sufficient to make the parties to the communication aware of the possibility of interception, which includes:
(1) Providing the resident with a written notification statement;
(2) Posting written notification next to every telephone at the jail that is subject to monitoring; and
(3) Informing the recipient of a telephone call from the resident by playing a recorded warning before the recipient accepts the call.
This subsection does not authorize any interference with the attorney-client privilege.
Sec. 5. 15 MRSA §713, as amended by PL 1995, c. 182, §2, is further amended to read:
The contents of an interception are not admissible in court, except that the contents of an interception of any oral or wire communication that has been legally obtained under the laws of another jurisdiction in which the interception occurred or that has been legally obtained pursuant to section 712, subsection 2 or 3 is admissible in the courts of this State, subject to the Maine Rules of Evidence.
Effective September 19, 1997, unless otherwise indicated.
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