Bill > HR7491

This bill, titled the "Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act," mandates that the Attorney General establish or update systems within 180 days to prevent the monitoring of electronic communications between incarcerated individuals in Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities and their attorneys or legal representatives, ensuring the attorney-client privilege is protected. This privilege, which safeguards confidential communications between a client and their lawyer, including exceptions like the crime-fraud exception, will apply to these digital communications. While the BOP may retain the contents of these communications until the inmate's release, access by anyone other than the incarcerated person is strictly limited: the Attorney General can only access them for system maintenance and cannot review them, and investigative or law enforcement officers require a warrant issued by a court, with prior approval from a U.S. Attorney or Assistant Attorney General, and a U.S. Attorney must first review the contents to ensure privileged information is not accessed, and if they do, they are barred from participating in any related legal proceedings. If retained contents are accessed improperly, a court can suppress any evidence derived from that access. The bill defines key terms such as "agent of an attorney," "contents" of a communication, "electronic communication" (including the Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System), "monitoring" (accessing communication contents after it's sent), "incarcerated person" (individuals in BOP or U.S. Marshals custody), and "privileged electronic communication" (communications with current, former, or potential attorneys and their agents).

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https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7491/all-info