Meeting with a Lawyer at Irwin County Detention Center: hours, privacy, and document handling

Before making the trip, call ahead to confirm the person is detained at Irwin County Detention Center. The facility has a procedure allowing legal service providers and legal assistants to phone in advance and verify someone is currently housed there. This quick step can save you a wasted drive if the person has been moved, released, or was never booked at this facility.

Legal visitation at Irwin County Detention Center is available seven days a week, including holidays. Attorney visits aren't limited to weekday business hours, so you can schedule weekends and holiday dates when needed.

• ✓ Legal visitation must be available for a minimum of 8 hours per day on regular business days.
• ✓ Legal visitation must be available for a minimum of 4 hours per day on weekends and holidays.
• ✓ The facility must provide notification of the rules and hours for legal visitation, and post the rules prominently in the visiting room.

Bring professional identification every time. Before each legal visit, you'll need to present credentials: a state bar card, documentation showing DOJ/EOIR accreditation, or a letter of authorization from the supervising attorney or legal representative. Even if you've visited before, expect to show verification again at the start of each visit.

Attorney meetings are meant to be private. Visits between legal service providers (or legal assistants) and a detainee are confidential and should not be subject to auditory supervision. If you're discussing sensitive facts or strategy, you should be able to do so without staff listening.

The facility is required to provide private consultation rooms for attorney-detainee meetings. If you arrive and are placed somewhere that doesn't allow a confidential conversation, ask for a private consultation room.

Bringing paperwork to exchange during the visit? Expect it to be screened. Documents or written material provided to a detainee during a legal visit may be inspected for security reasons, but staff are not supposed to read the contents. This protects attorney-client confidentiality while allowing basic contraband checks.

Once legal paperwork is provided during a visit, the detainee is entitled to keep it. If you're delivering filings, notes, or other case documents, the person can retain those materials to review and work on their case.

1. Call ahead to confirm detention - The facility must have a procedure allowing legal service providers and legal assistants to phone in advance to check whether the person is detained there.
2. Bring the right credentials every visit - Plan to show appropriate identification prior to each legal visit (bar card, DOJ/EOIR accreditation documentation, or a letter of authorization).
3. Plan around the minimum hours, including holidays - Legal visitation must be permitted seven days a week, including holidays, with at least 8 hours per day on business days and at least 4 hours per day on weekends and holidays.
4. Look for the posted rules when you arrive - The facility must notify visitors of legal visitation rules and hours, and post them prominently in the visiting room.
5. Request a private consultation room if you need it - Private consultation rooms must be available for attorney-detainee meetings.
6. Bring documents knowing how they will be handled - Materials you provide may be inspected but should not be read by staff, and the detainee is entitled to retain legal material for personal use.