Prisoners, attorneys secretly recorded

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The federal public defender’s office is seeking the release of 67 inmates from a Kansas federal prison and plans to seek freedom for more than 150 others because authorities secretly recorded conversations between prisoners and their attorneys that are supposed to be private.

Most of the federal inmates are being held on drug or firearms-related cases.

The practice first came to light in a prison contraband case during which criminal defense lawyers discovered the privately run Leavenworth Detention Center was routinely recording meetings and phone conversations between attorneys and clients, which are confidential under the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution.

The court expanded the responsibilities of the federal public defender’s office to represent any inmate in Kansas who may have been affected by the prison recording.

Federal Public Defender Melody Brannon’s motion seeks to have the government declared in contempt. She also wants the government to pay the legal costs as a sanction.

The Justice Department has argued that there is no evidence the recordings at the prison were done for reasons other than “legitimate security considerations,” but did not elaborate.