If you’re facing serious criminal charges and you’re sitting in jail, it’s only natural to reach out to your family and friends for a little moral support and any other assistance they may have to offer – but you need to watch what you say.
Many jailhouse calls are monitored and virtually all of them are recorded and stored in a secure database where prosecutors and jailhouse officials can access them. This is legal, and most jails have warnings posted about the issue for inmates to see. In addition, an explicit warning is probably given by recording before the person on the other end of the phone accepts your call. With that in mind, you need to be wary about saying anything self-incriminating.
Yes, your case really is that important
Far too many defendants fool themselves into believing that the government simply isn’t that interested in their case. They believe they are too “small potatoes” for an overburdened prosecutor to listen to their calls. That’s a huge mistake because prosecutors can and do use evidence from jailhouse calls in all kinds of trials. Others think they can talk in “code” and that whatever they say will either be unintelligible to the prosecution or unable to be used in court because they didn’t use anybody’s name – but they’re wrong.
If you need to make a call to someone outside of jail, keep your conversation off the topic of your arrest, the alleged victim in your case, the evidence against you or even your thoughts and feelings about the prosecutor, judge or witnesses. It’s far better to stick to topics like your health, your plans for after your release and any practical items you may need while incarcerated.
What you say really can hurt you – especially if you say it when you’re on the phone in jail. If you’ve been charged with a crime, the only time you should ever discuss your case is when you’re strategizing with your defense.
