PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
An Act To Provide for In-person Visitation of Incarcerated Persons
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §1663  is enacted to read:
§ 1663. Visitation
 
1.  Requirement.     The sheriff shall provide for in-person visitation at a county jail between a prisoner and a visitor of the prisoner, subject to conditions and limitations imposed on a case-by-case basis as required for the safety and security of the jail as determined by the sheriff and subject to the exception for video-only visitation provided in subsection 2.
 
2.  Exception.     The sheriff may provide video-only visitation at a county jail between a prisoner and a visitor of the prisoner only after a determination is made on a case-by-case basis and documented in the record of the prisoner that in-person visitation may jeopardize the safety and security of the jail or that, on a short-term basis, the jail facility is unable to provide a safe and secure location for in-person visitation.
 
SUMMARY
This bill requires a county sheriff to provide for in-person visitation at a county jail between a prisoner and a visitor of the prisoner, subject to conditions and limitations imposed on a case-by-case basis as required for the safety and security of the jail as determined by the sheriff and subject to an exception for video-only visitation. The bill allows a sheriff to provide video-only visitation only after a determination is made on a case-by-case basis, documented in the record of the prisoner, that in-person visitation may jeopardize the safety and security of the jail or that, on a short-term basis, the jail facility is unable to provide a safe and secure location for in-person visitation.