Custody settings undermine confidential attorney-client communication

Evidence

Some barriers to communication arise from the nature of institutional settings. When a defendant is in custody, serious discussions are fraught with peril. While such discussions are supposed to be private and confidential, they often are not; and institutional actors may in fact be listening in (see, for example, Associated Press, 2018). Even if they are genuinely private, clients still may feel vulnerable and may be resistant to trusting their attorneys. This is exacerbated when the attorney has been court-appointed and not the client’s choice. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 677