County of Nevada v. Super. Ct.

BACKGROUND

For many years, attorneys representing individuals incarcerated at the jail

routinely had face-to-face visits with their clients in non-partitioned rooms at the jail.

At the evidentiary hearing in this case, a former jail commander said that during his

tenure he allowed attorneys to have such visits unless their clients were particularly

violent or posed a threat.

2 In January 2013, however, the jail commander issued the following notice:

“Effective February 4, 2013, the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility will have

attorney/client visitation take place in the attorney visitation [partitioned] rooms.

This change is being done for the safety and security of the facility, attorneys, and your

clients as well as due to increased jail population and staffing issues. Should you require

paperwork to be delivered to your client, we will be happy to accommodate you and open

the pass through slot in the visitation room. [¶] Any requests for ‘Professional Contact

Visits’ need to be approved by the On Duty Supervisor and are limited to the attorney

of record.”

The jail commander explained the change by noting that the jail’s population had

recently increased and that…