Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin co-leads lawsuit about phone access for prisoners

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin is joining with 13 other states to challenge a Federal Communications Commission law about prisoner phone access.

Griffin said Tuesday that he was co-leading with Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita to challenge a recent FCC rule placing caps on rates and funding for phone calls for prisoners.

The FCC voted in July to cap rates and limit fees for phone calls by inmates. It also eliminated the ability of prisons to receive commissions from service providers or to up-charge for such things as call monitoring.

Griffin said that the FCC should not be allowed to interfere with cost-sharing agreements between telecommunications services and states.

“Funds derived from inmate phone use go toward covering needed security measures,” Griffin said. “Without proper security measures, what would stop inmates from conducting criminal operations over the phone?”

The attorney general added that the FCC regulation change was disconnected from economic and practical realities and exceeded the agency’s authority.

Joining Griffin and Rokita on the lawsuit were the attorneys general of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.