Legal (Privileged) Mail at Santa Rosa County Jail: what to expect and how the jail handles attorney correspondence

Santa Rosa County Jail handles legal mail differently from regular correspondence. Staff open attorney mail only when the inmate is present. For privileged mail, the jail copies the contents and destroys the original - but only after the inmate confirms all pages are complete and readable.

At this facility, privileged or legal mail means correspondence from legal representatives. The key difference? It's opened only when the inmate addressee is present - not screened ahead of time like standard incoming mail.

1. Staff identify the mail as “privileged” - once it’s treated as privileged mail, it follows the jail’s special handling process.
2. Staff open it with the inmate present - privileged mail is opened by staff in the presence of the inmate addressee.
3. Staff copy the envelope and all pages onto colored paper - the jail makes a copy on colored paper and provides that copy to the inmate.
4. The inmate verifies the copy - the inmate checks that all pages were received and that they’re legible.
5. The original is destroyed in the inmate’s presence - after verification, the jail destroys the original piece of mail while the inmate is there.

Do Not Send Originals

• ✓ Marriage certificates (send a copy)
• ✓ Birth certificates (send a copy)
• ✓ Social Security cards (send a copy)
• ✓ Pictures you can’t afford to lose (send copies only)

Don't mail anything you can't replace. The jail explicitly warns against sending original documents - marriage certificates, birth certificates, Social Security cards, photos. Send copies instead. Originals won't come back.