Policy Text
Court Security Division P age 1 of 5 4/05 (REV 6/11)
Holding Area: Inmate-Attorney Conferences
The purpose of this Operations Or der is to establish guidelines for allowing attorneys to
contact in-custody defendants/wit nesses while the defendant/wit ness is detained at a
Sacramento County Super ior Court facility.
I. Policy
A. The right to consult with legal representation is a cherishe d entitlement
that shall not be encroached upon by any member of the Sacrame nto
Sheriff’s Department. While bei ng mindful of security conside rations,
every effort shall be made to accommodate attorney conferences with
their in-custody defendants/witnesses.
II. Authority
A. In all criminal prosecutions , the accused shall enjoy the ri ght . . . to have
the assistance of counsel for his defense.
1. U.S. Constitution, Sixth Amendment
B. After the arrest, an attor ney . . . may visit the prisoner. Any officer having
charge of the prisoner who willful ly refuses or neglects to all ow that
attorney to visit a prisoner is guilty of a misdemeanor.
1. California P enal Code §825
III. General Guidelines
A. The responsibility of the a ttorney/client conference is coor dinated by:
1. Bailiff
2. Holding Area Officer
3. Court Control Operator
B. Due to security and operational considerations, attorney con ferences are
limited to reasonable time constraints.
1. Approximately 10 to 15 minut es and the conference should per tain
to the case being heard at the time.
Court Security Division P age 2 of 5 4/05 (REV 6/11) C. Attorney conferences shall ta ke place in a designated attorn ey/client
conference room.
1. No conference shall take pla ce in hallways or clerk’s office without
the prior approval of a facility sergeant.
D. Attorney conferences shall be overseen by an officer at all times.
E. Attorneys wishing to visit/conf er with an inmate must be the attorney of
record.
F. Attorneys wishing to visit/conf er with an inmate are to pres ent a valid
California Bar card to the baili ff or holding officer prior to the conference.
G. No briefcases or purses are permitted in the holding area at any time.
H. The use of cell phones, or other electronic communication de vices, is
prohibited during the conference.
I. The officer shall collect and inspect all material for contr aband before the
attorney may pass it to the inmate.
1. No personal pictures or non- legal correspondence are allowed .
J. Unless authorized by a facility sergeant, attorney conferenc es are not
allowed during the lunch hour.
K. The officer may terminate any attorney conference at any tim e if a security
issue or potential security problem becomes apparent.
L. In the event an attorney dis putes a Court Security procedure , a facility
sergeant shall be notified to resolve the situation.
M. The holding officer shall record all attorney conferences in the log book.
1. Date and time 2. Name of inmate. 3. Beginning and ending ti me of conference.
IV. Specific Facility Guidelines
A. Gordon D. Schaber Courthouse
1. All attorney conferences will be held in the attorney visit rooms that
are located between Departments 3 and 4.
a. The only exception is for in -custody defendants appearing in
Departments 8 and 9.
Court Security Division P age 3 of 5 4/05 (REV 6/11) (1) Attorney conferences for Departments 8 and 9 will be
held in South Tank.
2. Attorney conferences for inm ates that will be attending cour ts
adjacent to the holding tanks (D epartments 3 and 4 and 8 and 9)
will take precedence over other attorney conferences from other
courtrooms.
a. This policy is due to the hi gh volume of cases processed
through these courtrooms.
3. Attorney conferences for inm ates that will be attending othe r courts
will be handled on a first-co me, first-served basis.
4. Attorney conferences will not be allowed once the inmate has
completed their court appearance for that day.
a. This policy allows a greater number of attorney conferences
for those inmates that hav e not yet made their court
appearance.
b. This policy prevents any unnec essary delay in transporting
the inmate back to the correctional facility.
B. Lorenzo E. Patino Hall of Justice (Main Jail)
1. All attorney conferences are held in the attorney visit room s located
in the basement of the Main Jail.
2. The attorney shall request an “Attorney Pass” from the baili ff before
requesting a conference.
3. Attorneys shall present Cour t Control with their pass upon
requesting a conference.
4. The Control officer shall c onfirm the attorney’s credentials and log
their conference in the Court Control log book.
5. Attorney conferences for inmat es are handled on a first-come , first-
served basis.
6. Upon completion of the confer ence, the attorney shall return to
Court Control and check out.
7. The attorney shall return the pass to the bailiff.
C. William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse
1. The attorney, county health nur se, or CPS social worker shal l
request a conference by going to t he first floor security door #1 and
pushing the intercom to speak with the holding officer.