33-210.102: Legal Documents and Legal Mail
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose and effect of the proposed rule is to clarify what may be included in legal mailings and how such mailings shall be addressed.
SUBJECT AREA TO BE ADDRESSED: Legal Mail and Documents.
SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: 20.315, 944.09, 944.11 FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 944.09, 944.11 FS.
IF REQUESTED IN WRITING AND NOT DEEMED UNNECESSARY BY THE AGENCY HEAD, A RULE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP WILL BE NOTICED IN THE NEXT AVAILABLE FLORIDA ADMINISTRATIVE WEEKLY.
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT AND A COPY OF THE PRELIMINARY DRAFT, IF AVAILABLE, IS: Kendra Lee Jowers, 2601 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2500
THE PRELIMINARY TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT IS:
33-210.102 Legal Documents and Legal Mail.
(1) No change.
(2) Legal mail shall be defined as
(a) Mail to and from municipal, county, state, and federal courts.
(b) through (g) No change.
(3) through (5) No change.
(6) Inmates shall be permitted to receive only legal documents, legal correspondence, written materials of a legal nature (other than publications), and self-addressed stamped envelopes through legal mail. No other items may be received through legal mail.
(a) The following items are not permissible for inclusion in legal mail, but are permissible for inclusion in routine mail, along with other materials listed in subsection 33-210.101(2), F.A.C.:
1. Greeting cards, blank greeting cards, stationery or other blank writing paper or envelopes;
2. through 4. No change.
(b) through (c) No change.
(7) When an inmate is prohibited from receiving any item of legal mail, the inmate and the sender will be notified in writing that the mail has been disapproved stating one of the authorized reasons for disapproval. Form DC2-521, The Unauthorized Mail Return Receipt, Form DC2-521, will be placed in the original envelope with the correspondence and returned to the sender. If unauthorized items are discovered in the mail (other than items of an illegal nature), the unauthorized item and the correspondence will be returned to the sender with Form DC2-521, the Unauthorized Mail Return Receipt, included. Form DC2-521 is incorporated by reference in Rule 33-210.101, F.A.C.
(8) Processing of Legal Mail.
(a) The return address of incoming legal mail shall contain sufficient information to identify the sender as one of the persons or entities identified in subsection (2).
(b) Except as provided in Rule 33-603.103, F.A.C., the address on all incoming legal mail shall contain the inmates committed name, identification number, institutional name, and address. The inmates dorm and bunk locations are not required. However, if the addressee can be identified, the mail shall be delivered without delay. When legal mail cannot be delivered because the envelope does not contain enough information for a positive identification of the inmate recipient, the mail will be returned to the sender along with Form DC2-528, Legal Mail Unable to Deliver. Form DC2-528 is hereby incorporated by reference. A copy of this form is available from the Forms Control Administrator, 2601 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2500. The effective date of this form is __________.
(c) No packaging other than standard envelopes shall be given to inmates. The following types of packaging shall be removed before providing the contents to the inmate: boxes, padded envelopes, envelopes that include metal parts, multilayer packaging, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, or other forms of extra packaging.
(d) The sender of incoming legal mail shall mark the outside of the envelope legal-confidential, legal-open only in the presence of the addressee, or similar language which would put the reader on notice that the mail is legal mail of a confidential nature. Mail from courts that is subject to public inspection under Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, need not be marked as legal mail. Incoming mail which does not include a marking on the outside of the envelope requesting that it be treated as confidential legal mail shall be treated as routine mail and shall be opened and examined, and is subject to being read by a designated employee outside the presence of the inmate.
(e)(a) All incoming legal mail will be opened in the presence of the inmate to determine that the correspondence is legal mail and that it contains no unauthorized items. Only the signature and letterhead may be read. If the incoming mail is not legal mail, it will be returned to the sender along with a form letter which states that the correspondence is being returned in accordance with subsection (8) of this rule because it was being transmitted under the guise of legal mail. The inmate to whom the mail was addressed shall receive a copy of the form letter.
(f) If legal mail is written in a foreign language the signature and letterhead shall be translated to confirm that it is legal mail. If the signature and letterhead indicate that it is legal mail, the mail shall be provided to the inmate. If the letterhead and signature cannot be translated by an employee at the facility, the envelope, letterhead, and signature of the correspondence may be photocopied and sent to another institution or the central office for translation.
(g) The return address on all outgoing legal mail must contain the inmates committed name, identification number, and the institutional name and address spelled out completely. The inmates dorm and bunk locations are not required. No prefix other than inmate, Mr., Ms., Miss, or Mrs., or any suffix other than Jr., Sr., or Roman numerals such as II or III may be included as part of the committed name in the return address. If the inmates committed name or identification number is missing, the letter shall be returned to the inmate for proper addressing. If the institutional name or address is incomplete, the institution is authorized to stamp all outgoing legal mail with the complete institutional name and address and shall mail it without delay. All outgoing legal mail will be stamped mailed from a state correctional institution by mail room staff.
(h)(b) Inmates shall present all outgoing legal mail unsealed to the mail collection representative to determine, in the presence of the inmate, that the correspondence is legal mail, bears that inmates return address and signature, and that it contains no unauthorized items. Only the address may be read to determine whether it is properly addressed to a person or entity identified agency listed in subsection (2) of this rule. If the outgoing mail contains unauthorized items or is not legal mail, the inmate shall be subject to disciplinary action. If the outgoing mail is legal mail and it contains no unauthorized items, the mail collection representative shall stamp the document(s) to be mailed and the inmates copy, if provided by the inmate, Provided to (name of institution) on (blank to insert date) for mailing. The mail collection representative shall then have the inmate initial the document(s) next to the stamp. For confinement areas, the staff member who picks up the legal mail each day shall stamp the documents, have the inmate place his or her initials next to the stamp, and have the inmate seal the envelope in the staff members presence. The use of mail drop boxes for outgoing legal mail is prohibited.
(i)(c) Incoming and outgoing legal mail that is properly addressed and otherwise in compliance with applicable rules shall not be held for processing for more than 24 hours of receipt by the mail room, excluding weekends and holidays.
(9) Inmates shall be allowed to keep legal material in their living area subject to storage limitations. The Department of Corrections will not be responsible for lost or stolen or misplaced legal materials. The institution shall provide white paper, envelope(s), and pen for the preparation of legal documents and legal mail for those inmates without necessary funds to purchase their own paper, envelopes, and pen. Inmates shall not utilize hand-made envelopes or packages to send out legal mail. Mail enclosed in such materials will be returned to the inmate without processing. Outgoing packages and envelopes will not bear any artwork, additional lettering, or designs other than the required address and return address.
(10)(a) The institution shall furnish postage for mail to persons or entities identified in subsection (2), courts and attorneys and for pleadings to be served upon each of the parties to a lawsuit and for mailing a complaint to the Florida Bar concerning ineffective assistance of counsel in the inmates criminal case for those inmates who have insufficient funds to cover the cost of mailing the documents at the time the mail is submitted to the mailroom, but not to exceed payment for the original and two copies except when additional copies are legally required. The inmate shall be responsible for proving that copies in addition to the routine maximum are legally necessary. Submission of unstamped legal mail to the mailroom or mail collection representative by an inmate without sufficient funds shall be deemed to constitute the inmates request for the institution to provide postage and place a lien on the inmates account to recover the postage costs when the inmate receives funds.
(b) No change.
(11) through (12) No change.
(13) The address on all incoming legal mail should contain the inmates committed name, identification number, institutional name and address; the inmates dorm and bunk locations are not required. However, if the addressee can be identified, the mail shall be delivered without delay. When legal mail cannot be delivered because the envelope does not contain enough information for a positive identification of the inmate recipient, the mail will be returned to the sender along with Form DC2-528, Legal Mail Unable to Deliver. Form DC2-528 is hereby incorporated by reference. A copy of this form is available from the Forms Control Administrator, Office of Research, Planning and Support Services, 2601 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2500. The effective date of this form is 9-25-03.
(14) The return address on all outgoing correspondence must contain the inmates committed name, identification number, and the institutional name and address spelled out completely The inmates dorm and bunk locations are not required. No prefix other than inmate, Mr., Ms., Miss, or Mrs., or any suffix other than Jr., Sr., or Roman numerals such as II or III may be included as part of the committed name in the return address. If the inmates committed name or identification number is missing, the letter shall be returned to the inmate for proper addressing. If the institutional name or address is incomplete, the institution is authorized to stamp all outgoing legal mail with the complete institutional name and address and shall mail it without delay. All outgoing legal mail will be stamped mailed from a state correctional institution by mail room staff.
(13)(15)(a) Anytime legal mail is received for an inmate who has been transferred within the Department, the institution will return the correspondence within 5 working days to the post office with the forwarding address of the facility where the inmate is presently incarcerated. If additional postage is required to forward the legal mail, regardless of the class, to the transferred inmates new institutional assignment, the Department will pay the cost of this additional postage as long as the mail contained sufficient postage for delivery to its original destination.
(14)(b) Anytime legal mail is received for an inmate who has been released from the Department, it shall be returned to the post office within 5 working days with a forwarding address, if available, and a request will be made to postal authorities to forward the legal mail to the former inmate. If there is no available forwarding address, all legal mail shall be returned to the sender.
(15)(16)(a) All incoming legal mail received for an inmate shall be entered on the Incoming Legal and/or Privileged Mail Log, Form DC2-522. The form shall include the inmates name, DC number, the date the mail was received by the institution, the full address of the sender, the date the mail was received by the inmate, the signature of the inmate, and the initials of the mailroom officer who is present when the inmate signs for receipt of the mail. Form DC2-522 is hereby incorporated by reference. Copies of the form are available from the Forms Control Administrator, Office of Research, Planning and Support Services, 2601 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2500. The effective date of the form is ________12-4-02.
(b) In the event that the inmate has been released or transferred, in addition to the procedures required by subsection 33-210.102(13)(16), F.A.C., Form DC2-522 shall be completed as required in subsection paragraph 33-210.102(15)(17)(a), F.A.C., except that mailroom staff shall write Transferred or Released in the Date Mail Received By Institution section, and shall write the date that the mail was forwarded in the Inmate Signature section.
Specific Authority 20.315, 944.09, 944.11 FS. Law Implemented 944.09, 944.11 FS. HistoryNew 10-8-76, Amended 4-19-79, 7-2-81, 6-8-82, 9-23-85, Formerly 33-3.05, Amended 10-7-86, 8-20-89, 4-4-91, 9-1-93, 4-28-96, 2-12-97, 5-25-97, 10-7-97, 12-7-97, 2-15-98, Formerly 33-3.005, Amended 12-20-99, Formerly 33-602.402, Amended 5-5-02, 12-4-02, 5-11-03, 8-25-03, 9-20-04, 12-23-07,__________.
