NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Cases against nearly 400 inmates in New York City jails may be in jeopardy after private phone calls with their legal teams were reportedly recorded by mistake.
The Daily News reported that a clerical error led to over 1,500 calls between defendants and their legal advisers being wrongly recorded in what would be a violation of attorney-client privilege.
According to the report, a communications firm that's under contract with the city mistakenly recorded the calls, a mistake blamed on human error.
The calls of 353 inmates charged in Brooklyn, as well as 29 inmates charged in the Bronx, were recorded, sources told the Daily News.
The mistaken recordings—which occurred in all city jails—were uncovered by internal audits, according to the report.
"This recent audit revealed that over 1,400 privileged phone calls were illegally recorded in city jails, a blatant violation of rights," City Council Criminal Justice Chair Keith Power said in a statement Saturday.
Power said there are "systemic problems" at the Department of Correction, noting that two inmates died days apart at Rikers Island this past week and two other inmates were mistakenly released from the jail this month.
"In the last few weeks, we have seen a deeply troubling pattern of mismanagement from the Department of Correction," Power said.
He said the Department of Correction will appear before the City Council on Monday and that "we expect and demand full answers."
