New Arizona prison mail rules raise concerns about inmate access to lawyers, courts

New rules governing legal mail in Arizona prisons could delay time-sensitive court filings and make it harder for incarcerated people to access the courts, attorneys and advocates say.

State corrections officials said the changes are intended to prevent drugs and other contraband from entering prisons through the mail. Attorneys disputed the idea that legal mail is a source of contraband behind bars.

The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry updated its policy on Monday, announcing a narrower definition of legal mail, routing it through a new centralized mail center, and adding requirements for attorneys corresponding with incarcerated clients.

In Arizona prisons, legal mail receives special protections to safeguard incarcerated people’s rights to confidential communications with attorneys and the courts.

While personal letters sent to prisoners are processed at a Texas facility, where they are opened and digitized, legal mail was previously delivered directly to the recipient’s assigned unit. Correctional officers have inspected the mail for contraband in the recipient’s presence but were not permitted to read it.

Under the new system, legal mail addressed to prisoners will be routed through ADCRR’s Central Office Mail Center in Phoenix. There, staff screen will screen for contraband using a security scanner before forwarding it to the prison. Staff may open the mail only if the scanner detects an anomaly, officials said.

Prison complexes collect legal mail from the Phoenix office on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Once the mail arrives at a prison, staff must deliver it within 24 hours. The policy does not specify how long legal mail may be held at the Phoenix office before collection.

Incarcerated people who rely on legal mail to meet court deadlines say that uncertainty could put their cases at risk.

“You don’t know how many days they’re gonna hold it there,” said Gary Finley, who is serving a life sentence at the Tucson state prison for a 1995 murder conviction. “It’s time sensitive. If you miss that date, the court is not gonna have no sympathy. Your case gets kicked out and that’s how it’s gonna end.”

Corene Kendrick, deputy director of the ACLU National Prison Project, said uncertainty over mail delays could have significant consequences for incarcerated people facing strict court deadlines.

“When people are appealing their sentences or filing civil rights cases, or even things as mundane as dealing with a divorce or child support, deadlines matter,” Kendrick said. “This is going to cause massive delays, which can cause people to lose their cases.”

The updated policy also narrows what qualifies as legal mail.

Previously, licensed private investigators and certified process servers could correspond with incarcerated clients through this channel. Under the new policy, however, only “letters to or from an inmate’s attorney or a judge or court of law or a legal paraprofessional” qualify as legal mail.

Everything else is sent as general mail, meaning prison staff may read it.

Donna Leone Hamm, executive director of Middle Ground Prison Reform, said the change could make it harder for incarcerated people handling their own cases to get professional support.

“It tramples inmates’ rights,” Hamm said. “It doesn’t allow pro se inmates who are representing themselves to have equal access to extra witnesses or private investigators.”

Leland Damner, a licensed private investigator who assists incarcerated people with appeals, said losing legal mail protections could expose sensitive case information to prison officials. He said many of his clients are serving life sentences, and confidential communication can be critical for people seeking to overturn their convictions.

“Those documents were protected,” Damner said. “If it’s not considered legal mail, the prison can open it, copy it, and sometimes send it back.”

Hamm and Damner said they are preparing to challenge the new policy in court.

The new rules maintain confidentiality protections for correspondence with attorneys and legal paraprofessionals, but require such senders to register for a unique barcode to attach to each piece of legal mail. ADCRR said the system is intended to verify that mail marked as legal is coming from approved sources.

An earlier version of the updated policy also required courts and judges to register for barcodes. ADCRR later removed that requirement after the Arizona Administrative Office of the Courts said it would not be feasible to implement.

Kendrick said requiring attorneys to generate a barcode for each piece of legal mail will create significant challenges, particularly in large-scale litigation involving many incarcerated clients.

The ACLU is one of the organizations representing Arizona prisoners in Jensen v. Thornell, a federal class action lawsuit filed in 2012. Kendrick was one of the original attorneys representing the plaintiffs.

“We’re appointed as class counsel to represent over 25,000 people,” Kendrick said. “We have to communicate with large numbers of people about matters related to our case.”

ADCRR said its new legal mail policy is intended to prevent drugs and other contraband from entering prisons through the mail. The department said the changes are consistent with similar measures adopted by other prison and jail systems. In an update posted July 10, ADCRR announced several revisions before the policy took effect following discussions with Arizona’s legal community.

“ADCRR is fully confident in the appropriateness, legality, and constitutionality of the changes being made,” department officials said in a prepared statement.

Advocates, however, say ADCRR has not shown that legal mail is a significant source of drugs entering Arizona prisons. Kendrick said the policy does not address other ways contraband can enter correctional facilities, including through prison staff.

“The department has provided zero evidence that legal mail is responsible for the introduction of contraband into Arizona prisons,” Kendrick said.

Between state-run and privately contracted prisons that hold Arizona
inmates, the state has 15 prison complexes and correctional treatment
facilities.

Under the new policy, ADCRR is providing a 30-day grace period during which it will continue to process and deliver mail that does not meet the new requirements. After that period ends, mail lacking the required barcode or not addressed to the Phoenix mail center will be returned to the sender.

Administrative Office of the Courts staff told the Tucson Sentinel that implementation for courts has been shifted to Aug. 13 to allow more time to update mailing addresses for items sent to prisoners. The office expects the process to take several weeks.