“Your Call May be Recorded for Quality Assurance Evidence Collection.”

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has ruled that prosecutors can subpoena recordings of telephone calls made from jails and prisons by inmates and detainees. Prosecutors will attempt to obtain this evidence for use in grand jury investigations and trials. The SJC held that this type of evidence gathering does not violate an inmate’s privacy rights.  Penal institutions (jails and prisons) have to tell the inmates that their calls are being monitored and recorded.

In a dissenting opinion, Chief Justice Margaret Marshall expressed her concern that prosecutors may gain access to telephone calls between inmates and those they trust the most—spouses, therapists, doctors and spiritual counselors. Justice Marshall wrote:

We do not know—if the individual is a pretrial detainee—whether he has been indicted. We do not know whether any of the telephone calls are covered by any privileges—for example whether any telephone calls were placed to the pretrial detainee’s pastor, psychotherapist, or spouse. We do not know whether the inmate or pretrial detainee had any practical means of communicating with his family or pastor or physician except by telephone.

Given this court decision, you should be extremely careful regarding the things you say during a jailhouse call. If someone you know is in jail or prison, remind them that their calls are being monitored and recorded. Do not discuss potentially incriminating information over the phone.

Are you looking for a Worcester Criminal Defense Lawyer? Contact me for a free consultation by clicking here or by calling 508.859.0008. For more updates, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

A tool called Find My iPhone helped an  iPhone owner track down his stolen property and the suspect.  Apparently the alleged thief didn’t know about Apple’s Mobile Me service.  Mobile Me sends new emails, contacts and calendar events to hand-held devices and computers. Mobile Me’s Find My iPhone feature also helps users recover lost iPhones.

As the story goes, a 15-year old discovered that his iPhone had been stolen from his father’s car.  After reporting the crime to the police, the teenager was able  to tracked down the stolen phone to an exact address, where the police found the stolen property and arrested the suspect.

Are you looking for a Worcester Criminal Defense Lawyer? Contact me for a free consultation by clicking here or calling by  508.859.0008. For more updates, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Photos, Messages and Status Updates as Evidence

Social networking sites enable police departments to communicate with people.  For example, the Worcester and Boston police departments use Twitter to publish alerts about recent arrests and emergencies.  Anyone with a computer or a web-enabled device can see these public messages.  However, do we know exactly how the police use social networking sites behind the scenes?

Harvard Police Chief Edward Denmark told the Boston Globe that he would have no problem using  fake identities to fool internet users into granting him access to their online profiles. Marc Zwillinger, a Washington, D.C. lawyer who represents various social media sites, informed the Boston Globe that requests from investigators seeking information about individuals online has been “steadily increasing.”  Police investigators request access to user names, IP addresses, geographical information and private messages.

Once law enforcement agencies locate your online profile, they may also seek access to your photographs, comments, status updates and friends lists.   Any incriminating information  found on your online profiles can land you in jail. Ask Mary Ellen Hause.  Hause, an Ohio teaching aid, was captured in several photographs while standing near three underage cheerleaders.  The teenagers were holding bottles that contained alcohol.  An Ohio law states that no person “shall knowingly allow any underage person to remain in or on the place while possessing or consuming beer or intoxicating liquor.” According to CNET News, the incriminating photographs of Hause and the teenagers ended up on Facebook.  Hause was sentenced to 30 days in jail, a $500.00 fine, community service and three years of probation.

The police may also read into your online activity. So, if you’re a “fan” of illegal things, just keep it to yourself. For example, it would be really unwise (downright foolish) to become a Facebook “fan” of cocaine or heroin. (Yes, these drugs have Facebook fan pages. I checked.)  Even if you’re just joking around, you don’t want want a police investigator,  prosecutor or friend-turned-enemy to  print out your questionable online activities and use it against you.

If you haven’t already done so, please check the privacy settings on all of your social networking profiles.  Spread the word!

Are you looking for a Worcester Criminal Defense Lawyer? Contact me for a free consultation by clicking here or calling 508.859.0008. For more updates, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.