Legal Aid for Prisoners in BC: Supporting Inmates with Legal Services
Providing legal aid to prisoners in British Columbia, the organization advocates for inmates' rights by assisting with issues such as disciplinary charges, medical concerns, segregation, parole applications, and human rights violations. With a team of legal advocates and staff, they offer services ranging from summary advice to attending hearings, ensuring access to justice for incarcerated individuals facing a variety of challenges within the correctional system.
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Presentation Transcript
Prisoners Legal Services Legal Aid for Prisoners in BC
BC Corrections average daily count FY2016-17: 2,734 FY2017-18 (to January 3, 2018): 2,645 BC Counts CSC Pacific Region count 2016: 2,109
Section 12 of the Legal Services Society Act: LSS or a funded agency may employ non-lawyers to provide services that would ordinarily be provided by a lawyer so long as the individual is supervised by a lawyer, cannot appear as counsel in court (without leave of the court). Authority to practice law Section 15 of the Legal Professions Actprohibits non-lawyers from practicing law, except individuals or articling students referred to in s. 12 of the Legal Services Societies Act.
1 receptionist 1 office manager/bookkeeper 1 executive director/supervising lawyer 5 legal advocates: 1 time staff lawyer/ time disciplinary advocate 1 health care advocate, Kent, FVI 1 provincial 1 federal men s mediums/max 1 health care and human rights systemic Staffing Summer law students
Segregation Disciplinary charges Involuntary transfer to higher security Security classification Sentence calculation Parole applications Parole suspension Detention Residency UTA/ETA Liberty issues
Conditions of confinement File corrections Human rights Medical Programs Property Visits Non-liberty issues
Summary advice Short service (mail a PLE booklet) Liaise/negotiate Level of service Written submission Attend hearing in house Refer legal aid lawyer
In the past year we helped prisoners with 2,607 issues. About 50% provincial and federal split. Including (may be overlap): 651 Disciplinary charges 431 medical 230 segregation 115 parole suspension 111 involuntary transfer 100 human rights 48 use of force Volume of issues
Budget for 18 lawyer referrals per month In past year: 180 disciplinary hearing referrals 24 parole board hearings (including suspension, detention and applications) Other referrals are ILA for conflicts Lawyer referrals
Assisted with approximately 55 disciplinary and parole hearings in house in the past year. Over the past two years, PLS s in-house success rate for disciplinary hearings was 55% versus 28% success rate among referral lawyers. In house Over the past two years, our advocates have had a 43% success rate with voluntary transfer rebuttals written in house.
Human Rights Complaints Transgender prisoners (individual and systemic HR complaint) Mental disability and solitary confinement (Tekano, Brazeau, systemic and individual complaints) Opioid Substitution Therapy (systemic and individual HR complaint) Gladueapplication in prison Deaf prisoners (individual complaint ) Access to multi-faith chaplain services (individual complaints) Physical disability accommodation (Drennan) Systemic advocacy Federal Court Prisoners without immigration status in Canada (Tan) Heat (Gates) College of Physicians and Surgeons Mental disability and solitary confinement Civil BC disciplinary challenge
