Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. JEFFRIES. Madam Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentlewoman, my good friend from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), for yielding and for her tremendous leadership on so many different criminal justice issues, including with respect to this particular piece of legislation. I thank the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop) for his support as well.

I rise to support H.R. 546, the Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act, a critical bipartisan bill to protect the constitutional right to effective representation. This legislation passed the House last Congress, and I urge my colleagues to pass it once again today.

The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution provides that in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the assistance of counsel for his or her defense. An attorney must be fully informed about the facts of the case in order to effectively represent a client and provide the best possible legal advice and guidance. That is why confidential communication between attorneys and their clients is so critical and why the attorney-client privilege must be protected.

In Lanza v. New York, the Supreme Court stated that even in a jail, or perhaps especially there, the relationships which the law has endowed with particularized confidentiality must continue to receive unceasing protection.

There are nearly 124,000 individuals currently in BOP custody, many of whom are in pretrial detention and have not been convicted of a crime. In our system, defendants, American citizens, are innocent until proven guilty. Like any person involved in a criminal proceeding, these individuals who are incarcerated must be able to confidentially communicate with their attorneys.

The bipartisan Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act would enable incarcerated individuals to communicate with their legal representatives privately, safely, and efficiently by prohibiting the Bureau of Prisons from monitoring privileged electronic communications.

While BOP regulations do protect the confidentiality of in-person attorney visits, phone calls, and traditional mail, no such protections exist in the context of email communications sent through the BOP's electronic mail system. This system, known as TRULINCS, has become the easiest, fastest, and most efficient method of communication available to incarcerated individuals and their attorneys.

Let's consider the alternatives. Even a brief client visit can take hours when you factor in travel and wait times. Confidential phone calls are perhaps useful, but they are subject to time limitations and can be difficult to schedule even for urgent legal matters. Postal mail must first be opened and inspected by staff for physical contraband, which can significantly extend the time it takes for the communication to reach an incarcerated individual.

These delays should be unnecessary in a prison system that permits electronic communications and would be available if the attorney-client privilege was consistently applied.

To address this serious problem, H.R. 546 would require the Attorney General to ensure that the BOP email system excludes from monitoring the contents of electronic communications between an incarcerated person and their attorney.

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Mr. JEFFRIES. The BOP will be permitted to retain the contents of these messages until the incarcerated person is released, but they would be accessible only under limited circumstances.

The bill is supported by a wide variety of groups, including the American Bar Association, ACLU, Americans for Prosperity, Dream Corps, Due Process Institute, National Action Network, Prison Fellowship, Right on Crime, Faith and Freedom Coalition, FAMM, Federal public and community defenders organizations, and so many others.

I want to thank all the sponsors of this bill, most particularly Representatives Van Taylor, Jerry Nadler, Tom McClintock, Don Bacon, Nancy Mace, and Sheila Jackson Lee, as well as Dan Crenshaw and Dusty Johnson. This has truly been a bipartisan journey.

Our criminal justice system depends on the attorney-client privilege to ensure effective representation. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 546.

Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time.

I wanted to say my compliments to the gentleman from New York in pursuit of this bill and the things he spoke to about the presumption of innocence and the right to counsel, among those sacred core rights that our Constitution guarantees to every individual in this country. This important bipartisan bill is preservative of that.

That is what we do in this Chamber. That is what this Congress should always do. So my compliments to the gentleman from New York and the cosponsors on this piece of legislation. I encourage my fellow Members to support it.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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