In the fall of 2018, two Alameda County Sheriff’s Officers were caught on tape admitting to illegally recording youth defendants in privileged and confidential conversations with their own attorneys. As background, last year UPM’s statewide partners worked to pass legislation that requires that youth who have been arrested in the state of California meet with an attorney who can inform them of their Miranda Rights before they can be questioned by law enforcement. This law went into effect in January 2018. Ever since that happened, Sheriff’s Officers at the Eden County Substation here in the East Bay began listening in to conversations between youth and their attorneys. This breach of confidentiality is a felony offense and a Constitutional Rights violation. In early October, the Alameda County DA’s Office, with whom UPM and our partners have been engaging with in order to create more community accountability, brought felony charges against one of the Sheriff’s Officers caught discussing the issue on tape.
Join UPM in calling for a accountability and a system wide investigation: http://bit.ly/NotAboveLaw