FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota today asked a federal appeals court to protect the confidentiality of inmate telephone calls to attorneys and declare the state Department of Corrections practice of monitoring and recording telephone conversations illegal and unconstitutional.

In its legal brief, the ACLU contends that the corrections department's policy violates the constitutional rights of inmates by compelling them to discuss confidential legal matters that others may hear and interfering with their right to an attorney.

The case arose when Stillwater inmate Ronoldo Ligons sought to make private telephone calls to his attorneys to discuss his legal matters. However, the telephones in Ligons' cell hall are monitored and recorded and he therefore requested the private calls to protect attorney-client confidentiality.

Ligons' caseworker refused his request, citing a departmental rule that prohibits inmates from making confidential calls to their attorneys unless they can demonstrate that they have an imminent court deadline or some other emergency situation that would justify the call.

Ligons then sued the caseworker and Warden Crist for violating Minnesota statute that requires the Department of Corrections to provide inmates with "reasonable telephone access" to their attorneys. Violation of the statute is a misdemeanor, and the violator is required to pay the inmate $100 to be recovered in a civil action.

A lower court found that the corrections department policy does not provide the "reasonable telephone access" mandated by the statute and ordered Warden Crist to pay Ligons $100.

The Department of Corrections appealed the case to the District Court and the ACLU of Minnesota began representing Ligons. The District Court sided with the department, ruling that in order for them to be liable for violating the statute, they must first be convicted in a criminal proceeding.

The ACLU then brought the current appeal, arguing that the policy restricts telephone access, rather than providing "reasonable" telephone access. The ACLU also argued that the statute does not require a criminal conviction before an inmate can bring a civil action. To require a criminal conviction would make the statute meaningless, the ACLU argued, because it is unlikely that a county attorney would bring criminal charges against a Department of Corrections employee.

ACLU volunteer attorneys Peter Erlinder and James Manahan will argue the case, Ligons v. Crist, before the Court of Appeals on June 7, 2000. A decision in the matter will likely be issued next fall.