Hudson County authorities recorded attorney-client calls, used them at trial: lawsuit
Prosecutors and jailers in Hudson County, N.J. recorded attorney-client phone calls and used them against suspects at trial, according to a lawsuit.
The civil suit filed by Yursil Kidwai claims authorities knew they were violating the Constitution to obtain information that helped them secure convictions, NJ.com reported.
Kidwai spoke with his attorney on jailhouse phones in May 2020, when visits were limited during the COVID pandemic, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Dec. 19. In the documents, he claims he learned about the prosecutors’ illegal activity when documents “inadvertently produced in discovery copies” showed authorities had information from calls he made to his attorney.
“All the above conduct was done in secret because defendants knew and understood that the described conduct was unconstitutional,” the lawsuit claims, according to NJ.com.
The suit names the Hudson County prosecutor’s office; prosecutor Esther Suarez; former assistant prosecutor Jane Weiner; detectives Ashley Rubel, Julia Medina and Leslie Murphy in the prosecutor’s office; the county corrections department; and former county jail boss Ron Edwards, NJ.com reported. None of the defendants have responded publicly.
Kidwai, 45, is serving a six-year sentence for sexual assault. Sources told NJ.com that Kidwai would have likely been convicted easily and prosecutors didn’t need to illegally record attorney-client conversations to obtain a guilty verdict.
Despite facing 20 counts and a possible life sentence, Kidwai took a plea deal and was sentenced to six years behind bars. Observers told NJ.com that a victim’s family member railed against the agreement at his sentencing hearing.
Though Kidwai’s lawsuit only cites evidence in his case, it implies that Hudson County prosecutors recorded numerous jailhouse calls to attorneys and used the illegally obtained information to aid other cases.
The lawsuit was filed in civil court and does not immediately seek to overturn Kidwai’s conviction, though that could happen eventually.
