The Dreaded Middle of the Night Call From the Pinellas County Jail
It's two in the morning and you are awoken by a ringing telephone on your night stand. This can't be good! It never is. You drag yourself to the edge of the bed and at the same time attempt to clear the cobwebs from your head. Picking up the phone you you hear several people yelling. The acoustics are poor and in the midst of all the din you discern the familiar, yet frightened voice of a family member or friend. He tells you he's been arrested and he is scared. He is very scared. You learn that he is in the Pinellas County Jail and he wants you to get him out as soon as possible. Well of course you will help, you tell him. "But what happened," you inquire. "What did you do? Were you drinking?"
You May Have Just Facilitated a Confession!
Despite your best intentions to help, your discussion about the facts of the case over the jail phone may have just amounted to a recorded confession.That is because all incoming and outgoing telephone calls from the Pinellas county jail are recorded by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. If a case is later set for trial, the recordings are routinely reviewed by prosecutors to ascertain whether any incriminating statements can be used against the accused to help secure a conviction. In the example above, if your friend or relative unknowingly answered the questions "what did you do?" or "were you drinking?" he may have provided the the prosecutor with the very ammunition needed to sink the ship.
Normally, the fourth amendment to the United States Constitution would protect you from a warrantless recording of your telephone conversation. However, the courts have ruled that for security purposes, an inmate has no "expectation of privacy” from phone calls made from inside a jail or prison. The logic or rationale is that by virtue of his incarceration, the inmate gives up a limited amount of his rights since he could be planning an escape or break-out from the correctional facility or making plans to secure contraband or a weapon that could jeopardize the safety of the correctional officers. Thus, the jail is authorized to record and "eavesdrop" on any conversations conducted through the jail facility's phone system.
Likewise, the protections afforded by Miranda warnings and the Fifth Amendment don't apply, since the application of those principles are only applicable to "custodial interrogations" conducted by the police or governmental agents.
What Should You Do?
If you get a call from the Pinellas county jail...
1.) Advise your friend or relative to remain calm. Remind them that they are not being housed in a state prison facility. It would be extremely rare for them to suffer an assault or injury in the Pinellas county jail facility;
2.) Immediately inform them that your telephone conversation is being routinely recorded and for that reason you should not discuss the facts of their case either directly or indirectly;
3.) As tempting as it may be to tell their side of the story, instruct them not to relate the facts of their case to any other inmate in the Pinellas county jail. That person could later be called as a witness against them by the prosecutor and in turn shown favoritism in their own prosecution.
4.) Reassure them that you will be immediately contacting an attorney to learn your best options for securing their release. Inform them that this might include efforts to secure an R.O.R. (Release on their Own Recognizance without posting a bond); posting a cash bond, or in the alternative, using the services of a bail bondsman to post a surety bond.
There Will Be Plenty of Time To Later Discuss the Facts of The Case
If you do get a call from the jail in the middle of the night, resist the urge to find out what led to the arrest. It's better to concentrate on securing the release of your friend or relative in the cheapest and quickest manner possible. You can then carefully select a criminal defense attorney with the appropriate background and experience to address the legal problem. There will be plenty of time to later sit down in the comfort of his office and discuss the facts of the case.
Watch our video on Outstanding Warrants which discusses the three
methods for securing a person’s release from the Pinellas County Jail.
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Related Links:
Pinellas County Criminal Defense Attorneys
St. Petersburg / Clearwater DUI Defense Lawyers
Memo to Hogan Family: Phone Conversations in Jail are Recorded
Remorse in Courtroom Isn't Shown in Phone Calls From Pinellas Jail
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