ACLU Claims 2 Youths in Detention Weren’t Allowed to Call Lawyers

Despite assurances by county officials that Juvenile Hall inmates can use telephones and the mails to contact their attorneys, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney charged Tuesday that at least two jailed youths have been denied that right.

Attorney Harry Lerner said he will try to obtain a Juvenile Court order stipulating the communication rights of inmates despite claims by Deputy County Counsel Edward N. Duran that the litigation is unnecessary.

If inmates are permitted “reasonable access” to attorneys, “all (Duran) has to do is sit down with us” and prove it, Lerner said.

On Tuesday, Lerner sought a temporary restraining order, in conjunction with an ACLU lawsuit, to force the county to give juveniles reasonable access to telephones to contact their lawyers. But Superior Court Commissioner Barbara H. Evans declined to rule on Lerner’s request, saying the case should be heard in the Juvenile Court division, where a Thursday hearing on the issue was scheduled.

Lerner said that two juvenile inmates he is representing have filed declarations with the court saying that they were only allowed to telephone lawyers after obtaining court orders. One of the youths said he had been a ward of Juvenile Hall for about two years and hadn’t been permitted to use the telephone until last summer.

According to one youth’s declaration: “The other children in custody are not allowed to use the telephone, even to call attorneys, unless by court order or with their probation officer’s prior permission.” The inmate also said that any correspondence with his attorney was read by Juvenile Hall personnel.

But Duran said outside the courtroom Tuesday that every youth is permitted to write or call an attorney. “Everything he (Lerner) is asking for, we’ve been doing,” Duran said. Asked by a reporter if there had been a change recently, Duran replied that the policy has always been in effect.

Juvenile Hall spokesman Thomas Hinkle said Tuesday that the agency’s official policy allows inmates to write an unlimited number of letters. Costs of mailing two letters a week may be paid by the county at the request of inmates, he said. All outgoing and incoming mail may be inspected for contraband. However, if incoming mail is from government officials or attorneys, it may only be inspected in the inmate’s presence.

Youths are permitted an unlimited number of phone calls to attorneys, and those calls cannot be monitored, Hinkle said. Juvenile Hall staffers, however, do limit calls to a “reasonable” length of time and “reasonable hours,” Hinkle said.

But Lerner said that statements of his two clients and information supplied to him by Juvenile Hall staffers contradict Hinkle. Some inmates are allowed to use telephones, but it depends on their standing with counselors and other officials, he said.

Positive Results

The ACLU has filed a lawsuit against the county, asking the court to “preserve the right of incarcerated children confidentially to contact and communicate with attorneys.” It requests that attorneys be allowed to visit inmates and that the youths be allowed to contact government officials, clergy or the media.

The suit also asks the courts to order the county to correct alleged overcrowding problems and to stop disciplinary procedures such as tying children to beds at Juvenile Hall and handcuffing them to beds during hospital visits.

Dean Allen, a deputy public defender and supervisor of the agency’s Juvenile Hall office, said he believes that there have been problems with individual counselors preventing youths from using the telephone. But Allen added that he has seen positive results when complaints were lodged. He added that since the filing of an ACLU suit, it appears that the tying down of Juvenile Hall inmates has decreased significantly.

Lerner said Tuesday that he opposed moving the hearing on the temporary restraining order to Juvenile Court because the court is perceived as the policy setter for Juvenile Hall--therefore it might not be a neutral party. “We think the tenor there is not good,” he said.

Despite Hinkle’s statement that attorneys are permitted to see inmates, Lerner said he has to get a court order to gain access to the institution. “The county holds all the cards,” he said. “We know there are abuses going on in the (Juvenile) Hall, but it’s difficult to prove them. We’re not allowed in to look; we’re not allowed to go in and talk to the children.”