FEDERAL JUDGE RULES ON CONSTITUTIONALITY OF KICKBACK IN CONTRACT BETWEEN NEW YORK STATE PRISONS AND MCI

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August 30, 2005, New York, NY  Attorneys with the Center for Constitutional Rights today announced a major victory for the families and friends of people incarcerated in New York State prisons. The federal trial court in Byrd v. Goord issued an opinion upholding the constitutional challenge lodged by inmates families, ministers, friends, and counselors to the inmate telephone system in New York, which is designed to provide the Department of Correctional Services with millions of dollars in commissions or kickbacks. MCI and the New York State Department of Correctional Services entered a monopoly contract that charges family members hugely inflated rates to speak with their loved ones in prison and gives a 60 percent commission on the profits back to the State. The same system has been implemented in most states across the country, and has made it extremely difficult for families to speak with their loved ones in prison.

The decision, according to CCR Deputy Legal Director Barbara Olshansky, is an important victory for inmates families seeking to maintain ties with their loved ones in prison. It is also a resounding confirmation by the court of the principle that inmates do not lose their constitutional rights when they enter the prison gates, and that no person may be penalized or taxed for seeking to maintain their relationship with a loved one in prison.

CCR cooperating attorney Moshe Maimon of Levy, Phillips & Konigsberg, stated that based on this decision and our evidence in this case, we are confident that the court will find that the surcharges imposed by the Department of Correctional Services on inmate calls are an unconstitutional infringement on the rights of prisoners and their families to keep in touch.

On October 27, 2000, Ms. Olshansky and Mr. Maimon argued on behalf of New York State inmates and their families to oppose the State=s and MCI=s motions to dismiss the case. After the motions were argued before the Honorable George B. Daniels, MCI filed for bankruptcy and the entire matter was referred to bankruptcy court, causing much of the delay in getting a resolution to the dismissal motions. Since that time, the State has received approximately $125 million from inmate telephone calls, in what has essentially been an unlegislated tax on inmates families and friends.

Although the Byrd v. Goord lawsuit challenged the restriction of calls to collect only, the limitation of statewide service to one provider only, and the 60% commission/kickback taken by the State, the federal court upheld only the challenge to the States kickback. The court gave approval for the First Amendment, due process, and equal protection claims to go forward.

The decision comes shortly after CCR filed an appeal earlier this month in Walton v. MCI and NYSDOCS, a lawsuit challenging the prison telephone contract in State court. The New York State Assembly recently passed the Family Connections Bill to end the States kickback and reform the contract at the end of its session, while the companion Senate Bill remains in committee.

This is a hugely important for the family members of prisoners explained CCR attorney Rachel Meeropol, lead attorney in the Walton case. We are currently fighting this outrageous policy in federal court, state court, in the legislature, and on the streets. The Courts decision today  that families have the right to stay connected, and that the loved ones of prisoners cannot be singled out to fund correctional services  is a big success, and we are expecting many more.

Annette Dickerson, CCRs statewide coordinator of the New York Campaign for Telephone Justice, said, The victory sends a signal that this unjust and unlawful practice is nearing the end of its days. And the fewer impediments to prisoners speaking with family, the better for all of us: maintaining contact with family is one of the most important factors in staying out of trouble and out of prison when a person is released.

Currently, the only way for families to speak with their loved ones in most state prisons is for prisoners to call collect, and family members who accept the calls must accept the terms dictated by the phone company. Since states receive kickback commissions from the phone companies who receive the contract, there is no incentive to seek competitive bids. The contract goes to the company that provides the highest kickback, not the lowest fees. Rates for such calls are set well above market rates: in New York State, families pay a $3 connection fee and 16¢ per minute a 630 percent mark up over regular residential consumer rates. Current rates at Federal prisons are as low as 7¢ a minute. Meanwhile, those who accept these calls face staggering bills and must often choose between basic necessities and the chance to speak with their loved ones. Since prisoners come disproportionately from poor communities, the burden of staying in touch falls heaviest on those with the least ability to pay.

The New York Campaign for Telephone Justice works to end the kickback contract between MCI and the New York State Department of Correctional Services, and deliver choice, affordability, and equitable service to the families and friends of those incarcerated in New York State. The campaign is a project of the Center for Constitutional Rights, in partnership with Prison Families Community Forum and Prison Families of New York, Inc.

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) is a non-profit legal and educational organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution
and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Prison Families Community Forum is part of the Fifth Avenue Committee, a non-profit CDC in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York. The Prison Families Community Forum is a grassroots group with incarcerated loved ones, mobilizing ourselves to effect policy and community change and fight for social justice. We offer free legal trainings, organizing trainings, referrals and leadership development. We are striving toward self-determination and self-sufficiency for a network of New York State families and friends with loved ones behind bars. We are looking for technical assistance, in-kind contributions and financial support to execute a campaign to STOP THE CONTRACT between MCI/Worldcom and the NYS Department of Corrections which imposes a 68% tariff on all calls from New York State correctional facilities. This $26 million in profit for the state and the DOCs is an unjust tax on the mothers, wives, daughters, brothers and sons who must pay these exorbitant rates or have communication ties severed.

Inmate Advocates Want Changes to Prison-Phone Plan

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(PressRepublican.com, Oct. 27, 2004) Relatives of state prison inmates complained Thursday that they are being hit with a "backdoor tax" every time they accept a collect call from a family member behind bars.
Under a contract with MCI, the state gets a commission totaling about $20 million a year from prison calls, money it uses to pay for a variety of programs for inmates and their families.

But families and prisoner advocates argued at a news conference that those programs should be paid for out of the states general fund, not by the wives, children and parents of inmates.

More: www.pressrepublican.com

See also:

"Arsberry v. State of Illinois, AT&T, Invision Telecom, MCI Telecommunications Corp, et al." -- This suit challenged the State of Illinois practice of creating exclusive agreements with telephone companies for inmate telephone service.

"Byrd v. Goord" -- This case challenges single provider, collect call-only telephone service, here available to inmates within the 70 correctional facilities of the New York State Department of Correctional Services.
"Center for Constitutional Rights sues New York State DOCS and MCI Monopoly Contract" -- CCR filed suit on Thursday, February 26, 2004 against the New York State Department of Corrections and MCI WorldCom Communications, Inc., on behalf of family members and lawyers of individuals incarcerated in New York State Prisons. The suit challenges the high rates and expensive commission the State demands from recipients of collect calls from New York prisoners.

Center for Constitutional Rights

"Heavy Toll on Calls From Prison / Inmates' families accuse state, phone companies of price-gouging"

"Senators Urge End to Fees on Prison Calls / Critics say phone policy gouges inmate families"

"Equitable Telephone Campaign (eTc) Campaign Update - March, 2003

"Telephone Overcharging and Florida Dept. of Corrections Malfeasance"

"MCI, Pacific Bell feud over California prison contract"