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Communication

Legal Mail

Legal mail is correspondence between an incarcerated person and their attorney, court, or government agency that is protected by attorney-client privilege and handled differently from regular personal mail.

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What Is Legal Mail?

Legal mail is correspondence between an incarcerated person and their attorney, court, or government agency that is protected by attorney-client privilege and handled differently from regular personal mail. Legal mail is typically opened in the presence of the inmate but not read by staff. In states that have implemented mail scanning systems, legal mail is generally still delivered directly to the facility rather than going through the scanning center.

In Oklahoma, which banned physical mail at state prisons in 2024, legal mail from attorneys is still delivered directly to the facility. Personal mail from family goes to the Dallas processing center for scanning.

People Also Ask

Related questions families often search for alongside this topic.

What is Mail Scanning?

Mail scanning is a system where incoming physical mail is intercepted at a central processing facility, scanned digitally, and delivered to the inmate electronically or as a photocopy rather than as the original physical letter.

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What is Digital Mail?

Digital mail is the electronic delivery of letters and photos to inmates through approved platforms, either by family uploading content directly through a service like JPay or Pigeonly, or through a mail scanning system that converts physical mail into digital format.

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What is Attorney Call?

An attorney call is a phone call between an incarcerated person and their legal counsel that is legally protected and not recorded or monitored.

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