South Dakota Swaps Inmates’ Lawyers for iPads

Until recently, South Dakota inmates had access to lawyers during their time in prison. Now, the lawyers are gone, replaced by a subscription to a legal search engine, run on tablet computers from a company accused of exploiting inmates.

South Dakota law requires prisons to provide inmates access to the courts system. For years, the state’s Department of Corrections contracted with lawyers who helped update inmates’ documents and answer their legal questions. But as long as inmates can research court cases online, the state has upheld the law, the DOC says.

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This article was submitted by Jonathan T. Armiger, Armiger Law. If you would like to submit content or write an article for the E-Discovery, Information Governance & Cybersecurity Section, please email Kara Sikorski at ksikorski@indybar.org.