87% of jailed defendants cannot make a private phone call to their own lawyer

87% of public defense lawyers report that their incarcerated clients cannot participate in phone calls where no one else is present and able to listen, and 69% report that attorney-client calls are actively monitored by the state. At least eight major city jails — including Boston, Minneapolis, and Salt Lake City — record calls between prisoners and their attorneys. For a public defender with 200+ active cases, the alternative to phone calls is in-person jail visits, where attorneys spend more time going through security and waiting for clients than in actual meetings. The result: defendants go weeks or months without speaking to their lawyer. Over 65% of public defenders report that their workload prevents them from conducting adequate client interviews. Defendants make life-altering decisions about plea deals without understanding the charges, the evidence, or their options. This persists because jails purchase phone and communication systems from private vendors whose contracts prioritize monitoring and revenue extraction (per-minute call charges to families) over attorney-client privilege.