Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 546, the Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act. This bill will modernize our criminal justice system by extending attorney-client privilege to electronic communication sent or received through the Bureau of Prisons' email system. This will ensure that incarcerated individuals can communicate with their attorneys efficiently and privately, as it should be. Under the legislation, the Bureau of Prisons will be prohibited from monitoring privileged email communications between incarcerated individuals and that individual's attorney. The attorney-client privilege is a vital component of our legal system that ensures a criminal defendant has an effective advocate in the courtroom. Emails between incarcerated individuals and their attorneys should fall under the attorney-client protections, but currently, that is not the case. This bill will protect the rights of incarcerated men and women to speak openly and honestly with their attorneys via email, without fear that the prosecution is monitoring those communications. Other methods of communication, such as in-person meetings and letters, can be particularly burdensome and time-consuming. Even if an attorney is near the incarcerated client, it can take hours to travel to a detention facility and visit with the client. Madam Speaker, H.R.…”