On January 14, 2022, Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada ruled that a lawsuit against the for-profit prison company, CoreCivic, should move forward. CoreCivic had sought to dismiss the lawsuit, which is a proposed class action that alleges CoreCivic wiretapped attorneys’ phone calls with their clients who were confined in CoreCivic’s prisons and detention centers. The Plaintiff, Kathleen Bliss, is herself a criminal defense attorney and will seek to certify a nationwide class of attorneys who have had their calls with clients recorded, as well as a subclass of Nevada attorneys. Bliss alleges CoreCivic violated the Federal and Nevada Wiretap Acts.
Bliss said of the court’s decision: “The attorney-client relationship is one of the most important protections that the Constitution extends to all of us in America. It is key to our liberty, our ability to defend ourselves against government accusations. Judge Dorsey’s decision recognizes the seriousness, the importance of these rights; and though not deciding the merits, this first step demonstrates that all accused people expect and deserve to have the confidentiality of their innermost thoughts and conversations with counsel preserved and respected without violation or ill-intention.”
Bliss is represented by Anna P. Prakash, Charles A. Delbridge, Matthew H. Morgan, Melanie A. Johnson, and Charles J. O’Meara of Nichols Kaster, PLLP; Michael Hodgson of The Hodgson Law Firm, LLC; Lance Sandage of Sandage Law LLC; Joseph K. Eischens of the Law Office of Joseph K. Eischens; and Paul S. Padda of Paul Padda Law, PLLC.
The case is Kathleen Bliss, on behalf of herself, the Proposed Nationwide Rule 23 Class, and the Proposed Nevada Subclass v. CoreCivic, Inc., Case No. 2:18-cv-01280-JAD-EJY (District of Nevada).