Eavesdropping in Maine Jails
Jailed defendants have a legal right to privately speak with their attorneys. Yet, in Maine, county jails are eavesdropping on these calls. Four jails recorded nearly 1,000 attorney-client calls in a single year and shared recordings with police and prosecutors before trial, a Maine Monitor investigation has found. Often defense lawyers are not told when their calls are recorded and agencies lack rules about what to do once law enforcement and prosecutors eavesdrop on jailed suspects’ calls to their attorneys.
This series is supported by:
Follow Us
Latest Articles
Lawyers outraged that sheriff’s office listened to recordings of confidential phone calls
Gov. Janet Mills said she will work with the attorney general and Legislature, but did not commit to a specific solution.
A Maine jail recorded hundreds of an attorney’s calls. He wants to know why.
Law enforcement officials listened to dozens of those recordings, Aroostook County data show.
Study group may replace bill to strengthen privacy of attorney-client calls in jails
Lawmakers stripped away penalties in favor of a 16-person committee to look at the problem.
Maine man recorded by jail while on phone with lawyer won’t get new trial
Judge William Stokes denies Steven Clarke’s request to set aside 2016 plea deal.
Maine lawmakers, defense attorneys say jails ‘must stop’ recording and listening to attorney calls
Gov. Janet Mills instructs the Department of Corrections to work with lawmakers to protect attorney-client privilege in jails and prisons.
One man fights to undo plea deal due to jail recording of attorney calls
Steven Clarke gambles that a justice will let him take back his guilty plea.
Attorney calls recorded by Maine jails
Maine jails recorded nearly 1,000 calls from inmates to their attorneys at the Aroostook, Androscoggin, Franklin and Kennebec county jails.
Jailed defendants expected private attorney calls. They didn’t always get them.
Murder suspects fear they can’t get a fair trial after state police acknowledge listening to portions of phone calls with their attorneys.
DATABASE OF RECORDED CALLS
Maine jails recorded nearly 1,000 calls from inmates to their attorneys at the Aroostook, Androscoggin, Franklin and Kennebec county jails. The Maine Monitor filed public records requests to obtain the records, which span June 2019 to May 2020.
Authors & Contributors
SEND US A TIP
If you or someone you know believes they were recorded speaking to an attorney while being held at a Maine county jail, or if you have records showing that attorney calls were recorded, send us a tip.
SUPPORT US
Help us expand our in-depth and enterprise reporting so The Maine Monitor can continue producing impactful work like this series and uncover problems affecting Mainers.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
We publish two newsletters: The Daily Monitor (a curation of the day’s most important news from our media partners) and The Sunday Monitor (exclusively featuring our work).