Richmond Public Defender Says City Jail Still Runs Under Pandemic-Era Access Limits

More than four years after COVID-19 first prompted restrictions at the Richmond City Justice Center, the city's public defender's office says the jail has not returned to normal operations. According to the office, people held there still have limited access to both their lawyers and their families.

Chief Public Defender Tracy Paner said attorneys from her office, who are appointed by the court to represent defendants who cannot afford counsel, regularly struggle to reach their clients. "This has been a consistent problem at the jail," she told CBS 6.

Paner said lawyers can usually meet clients only through a plexiglass divider. She said that undermines the basic rapport of the job. "The first thing I do for every client is introduce myself and shake their hand. It's a sign of respect. I can't do that with my clients," she said. She added that her attorneys accepted the restrictions when they began in 2020 but that access has never widened since.

Of the jail's 14 professional visitation rooms, Paner said only four or five are usable at any given time. None permits in-person contact, and the phones meant for communication do not work. She said none of the rooms equipped for video visitation are operational. As a result, attorneys wait more than an hour on average to see a client, time she said takes away from their ability to represent people.

The setup also complicates the sharing of documents and digital evidence. Paner said she needs to review videos with clients so they can judge how strong or weak the Commonwealth's evidence may be as they prepare for trial, and that doing so through a plexiglass window is "really difficult."

Family contact is another concern. Paner said the jail suspended free public video visitation in 2020. Families now have video access only through GTL, a telecommunications company, which charges fees she described as astronomical. "My clients are the poorest of the poor," she said, adding that staying in touch with relatives is necessary for better outcomes for inmates.

Paner said she raised the issues with Richmond Sheriff Antionette Irving in March and held several informal meetings with jail leadership, but saw little or no improvement. In early June she sent a letter to the sheriff as what she called a last resort. It asked for a return to pre-pandemic visitation practices, more visitation staff, a commitment to shorter waits, repairs to broken equipment and a reopening of the lobby to the public. She requested a reply by June 25. As of July 23, she said, she had received only an acknowledgement that the letter arrived.

The sheriff's office disputed the characterization. In an emailed statement, Major Stacey Bagby said the office was unaware of any recent concerns about access to clients. "Attorneys have full access to their clients. They may visit whenever they so choose with respects to the hours," she said, adding that any earlier concerns had been reviewed. Bagby said attorneys may visit during business hours, weekends, holidays and evenings until lockdown, barring an emergency, and that visitation follows procedures aimed at the safety of inmates and staff.

Bagby also said attorney visitation did not change after COVID. Paner's letter, however, states that when her office asked for a return to in-person visitation, it was told this was not possible because of continuing COVID-19 concerns. On the broken equipment and phones, Bagby asked for patience while replacement items are ordered and delivered.