Judge: Produce grand jury material in Kansas recording case

WICHITA, Kan. – A judge has ordered the U.S. government to give grand jury materials to a court-appointed official investigating the recording of attorney-client meetings at a federal prison in Kansas.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson gave prosecutors until Nov. 21 to produce grand jury transcripts related to a prison contraband case in which criminal defence lawyers discovered that the privately run Leavenworth Detention Center was routinely recording meetings between attorneys and their clients.

The recordings at issue were made as part of a grand jury investigation in the contraband case. A special master is looking into the government’s collection and use of conversations between attorneys and their clients that are supposed to remain private.

The special master recently informed Robinson that the U.S. attorney’s office has stopped co-operating with the investigation. Robinson cited that in issuing her order Tuesday.