We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

BOP TELLS NEWSLETTERS TO HIT THE BRICKS

Last Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons blocked email access to at least three legal newsletters sent to inmates, including the one I have written every week for 58 months.

A little before 6 am, LISA began receiving – one email at a time – 10,219 notices that its newsletter had been banned:

Brandon Sample, a well-known attorney whose practice focuses on federal criminal, post-conviction and prison matters, told LISA that he had received notices as well that his newsletter to federal inmates had been banned. Several inmates have reported that additional newsletters had been blocked as well.

Brandon filed suit against the BOP the same day. Because Brandon was seeking a temporary restraining order, he was obligated to first confer with the AUSA assigned to the case. Late Friday afternoon (October 16), the AUSA told Brandon his newsletter had been blocked by mistake – part of an “unrelated investigation” – and it had been restored.

LISA’s newsletter site was unblocked at the same time.

The AUSA reported the BOP was not technically able to restore all of the contacts in the newsletter email lists. Brandon reported that he had lost all of the subscribers in his newsletter email account. LISA lost 10,971 subscribers from a list that had been built over nearly five years.

– Thomas L. Root