NEW ORLEANS – The sheriff's and district attorney's offices in New Orleans are defending their recording of some conversations between inmates and their lawyers as a security measure, despite criticism that it violates attorney-client privilege.
The sheriff's office says calls from inmates to land line numbers can be made privately, and the jail has seven rooms available for confidential attorney-client meetings. It says calls to land lines aid jail security because authorities can detect if a third party is listening in, a capability they don't have with calls to cell phones.
Court Watch Nola, which criticized the practice in its annual report, denies that third parties can be detected either way.
A prosecutor's spokesman said confidentiality doesn't apply because inmates and lawyers are warned that calls to cellphones can be monitored and recorded.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
