An Act Regarding the Interception of Oral or Wire Communications of Residents of State Correctional Facilities and Jails
Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §709, sub-§1-B is enacted to read:
Sec. 2. 15 MRSA §709, sub-§4-A, as amended by PL 1997, c. 361, §1, is further amended to read:
Sec. 3. 15 MRSA §709, sub-§4-B, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 361, §2, is amended to read:
Sec. 4. 15 MRSA §712, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2009, c. 93, §1, is further amended to read:
(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.
This subsection does not authorize any interference with the attorney-client privilege.
Sec. 5. 15 MRSA §712, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 361, §4, is amended to read:
(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. 6. 15 MRSA §712, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
Sec. 7. 15 MRSA §713, as amended by PL 1997, c. 361, §5, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§ 713. Evidence
The contents of an interception are not admissible in court, except that:
summary
This bill clarifies several aspects of the law regarding the interception of oral and wire communications of residents of state correctional facilities and county and regional jails.
1. The bill resolves a possible conflict regarding the authority of Department of Corrections investigative officers and jail investigative officers by adding to the definitions of those terms language referring to the administration of criminal justice. It also removes the word "county" in referring to jail investigative officers in recognition of the recent establishment of a regional jail, which is not operated by any one county.
2. The bill defines "administration of juvenile criminal justice" to reconcile current law with changes made by Public Law 2009, chapter 93, which allowed the Department of Corrections to intercept phone calls of residents of its juvenile correctional facilities.
3. The bill strikes the term "necessary incident" and replaces it with "related" to avoid an overly strict interpretation of the circumstances under which phone calls may be intercepted, disclosed or used or the contents thereof admitted into court.
4. The bill also provides that the contents of oral and wire communications intercepted by these investigative officers are admissible in court only if related to the administration of criminal justice or the administration of juvenile criminal justice or the statutory functions of a state agency.