‘Unsatisfactory’: Richmond public defenders say jail conditions causing headache

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond’s public defenders are speaking out after they say conditions inside the Richmond City Justice Center are causing attorneys to wait hours in the lobby to visit with their clients.

Tracy Paner, Chief Public Defender in Richmond, told 8News the issues stems from a lack of adequate and working “professional visitation rooms” after COVID-19.

“The problem is… I have some very talented attorneys who are literally spending hours waiting in the lobby of the jail to even get to that professional visitation room to see their clients,” Paner said. “It is a manpower. It is our work hours being sucked up waiting to see our clients at the jail.”

Public defenders are appointed by the courts to represent people who cannot afford a lawyer. Paner said her attorneys visit the jail often to review court documents, get signatures, review digital evidence with inmates and build a rapport for future court appearances. This process must be done through what’s called “professional visitation rooms.”

According to documents obtained by 8News, of the 14 visitation rooms, only 5 are currently operational. The documents also reveal there are five rooms with video capabilities; however, none of those rooms are operational.

“There is so much digital evidence we have to go over with our clients… the body worn camera, the surveillance videos, the cell phone information. Digital evidence is huge and it takes hours to go through,” Paner said. “We don’t have a way to get our clients signatures on legal forms, on release forms that we need, school records, work records, medical records – all of this is necessary.”

Paner said she met with jail leaders about her concerns in March. During that meeting, she said all parties agreed that attorneys should have to wait no more than 15 to 20 minutes in the lobby to visit a client.

However, three months later, in June, she penned a letter to Sheriff Antionette Irving sharing frustrations that there had been no improvement.

“We cannot fulfill our mandate to defend the rights and dignity of our clients through zealous, compassionate, and high quality legal advocacy without access to our clients,” said Paner in the letter. “In the spirit of advocating for that dignity, it also should not go unsaid that the Justice Center lobby has been closed to our client’s families since March 2020.”

Paner said that, since March, “we were given all kinds of assurances and nothing got better.” She added, “The feedback I’ve received since then has been…. unsatisfactory.”

After hearing of these concerns, 8News anchor Autumn Childress reached out to the Sheriff for answers. Irving responded, saying: “Attorneys have full access to their clients and family members are able to visit with their loved ones.”

Paner acknowledged there is an option for contact meetings, but said that process isn’t without its own obstacles.

“There’s only one deputy who sets it up and they have to be there while the visit goes on – standing right outside the door. That’s fine. The problem is the deputy – that one deputy doesn’t work weekends or evenings so we can’t schedule it,” Paner said.

As of this reporting, the issue remains, though Paner believes the solution is simple. She recommends a system similar to that of a bank, where the attorneys can speak to their clients through a hole in the divider and easily access documents.

“Without making that connection – it’s really difficult,” Paner said.

This is a developing story. Stay with 8News for updates.

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