DOJ Rule Steps on Attorney-Client Priviledge

SUMMARY: The current regulations of the Bureau of Prisons on institutional management authorize the Bureau to impose special administrative measures with respect to specified inmates, based on information provided by senior intelligence or law enforcement officials, where it has been determined to be necessary to prevent the dissemination either of classified information that could endanger the national security or of other information that could lead to acts of violence and terrorism. This rule extends the period of time for which such special administrative measures may be imposed from 120 days to up to one year, and modifies the standards for approving extensions of such special administrative measures. In addition, in those cases where the Attorney General has certified that reasonable suspicion exists to believe that an inmate may use communications with attorneys or their agents to further or facilitate acts of violence or terrorism, this rule amends the existing regulations to provide that the Bureau is authorized to monitor mail or communications with attorneys in order to deter such acts, subject to specific procedural safeguards, to the extent permitted under the Constitution and laws of the United States. Finally, this rule provides that the head of each component of the Department of Justice that has custody of persons for whom special administrative measures are determined to be necessary may exercise the same authority to impose such measures as the Director of the Bureau of Prisons.

Full text of rule: http://cryptome.org/bop103101.txt