Free Letter - District Court of Delaware - Delaware

Case 1 :05-cv-00576-JJF Document 37 Filed 07/21 /2006 Page 1 of 2
§¢¤=i ·¤»,Q` STATE OF DELAWARE °,;¤F·Y Ge,
59 7- ea DEPARTNIENT OF JUSTICE 5 Q;
*5 Qrit?i·.’ E lf, §
"a_ " CARL C. DANBERG VQ gv
"°•-·m··*°` Attorney General OF D9}
NEW CASTLE COUNTY KENT COUNTY SUSSEX COUNTY
Carvel State Building 102 West Water Street 114 E. Market Street
820 N. French Street Dover, DE 19904 Georgetown, DE 19947
Wilmington, DE 19801 Criminal Division (302) 739-4211 (302) 856-5352
Criminal Division (302) 577-8500 Fax: (302) 739-6727 Fax: (302) 856-5369
Fax: (302) 577-2496 Civil Division (302) 739-7641 TTY: (302) 856-2500
Civil Division (302) 577-8400 Fax: (302) 739-7652
Fax: (302) 577-6630 TTY: (302) 739-1545
TTY: (302) 577-5783
PLEASE REPLY TO:
July 21, 2006
[New Castle County-Civil Division]
The Honorable Kent A. Jordan
U.S. District Court
844 N. King Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
Re: Seawright, et al. v. Williams, et al.
C.A. N0. 05-576-KAJ
Dear Judge Jordan:
I am writing to address the issues presented in the July 18, 2006 teleconference.
In his July 12, 2006 letter to the Court, Plaintiff Darren Seawright stated that he
was having difficulty making telephone calls from the Central Violation of Probation
Center ("CVOPC"). In particular, Mr. Seawright indicated that Captain Robert May told
him that "there will be no more t***ing phone calls.” Mr. Seawright does not specify
when this conversation took place.
There is no record of this alleged incident. Mr. Seawright did not follow
institutional procedure in that he did not write a letter of complaint or file a grievance.
Captain May denies having any such conversation with Mr. Seawright and in fact stated
that he does not even know Mr. Seawright and has never seen him.
Mr. Seawright also states that his counselor, Doreen Williams, could not contact
me. I spoke with Ms. Williams on July ll, 2006 at which time I advised that I would
contact the Court that day to set up the scheduling teleconference. I did so and advised
Ms. Williams of the date the next day, July 12. On July 13, Ms. Williams indicated that
she would pass the information on to Mr. Seawright.

Case 1 :05-cv-00576-JJF Document 37 Filed 07/21 /2006 Page 2 of 2
During the teleconference with the Court, the parties also discussed the issue of
written communication between Mr. Seawright and Plaintiff Daniel Woods.
Pursuant to Department of Correction policy, inmates at different institutions may
not correspond without the express permission of the Wardens of both institutions. As
the United States Supreme Court has acknowledged, "[t]he prohibition on
correspondence between institutions is logically connected to [ ] legitimate security
concerns." Turner v. Sajley, 482 U.S. 78, 91 (1987). Correspondence between inmates
can be used to communicate escape plans and to plan criminal activity. Id.
To date, neither Plaintiff in this case has applied for permission to correspond
with his co-Plaintiff I have enclosed Correspondence Request Forms for CVOPC and
the Delaware Correctional Center, where Mr. Woods is incarcerated. While these forms
are used where family members wish to communicate, they may be used for other
purposes as well. As part of the review process, prison officials consider potential
security risks presented by the proposed correspondence.
I suggest that Mr. Seawright and Mr. Woods submit requests to correspond with
one another concerning their ongoing litigation. Because Plaintiffs have not yet
requested permission to correspond, their complaints regarding this issue are premature.
It is my understanding that Mr. Seawright will be transferred from CVOPC to one
of the State’s work release programs. When that transfer occurs, he will need to make his
request through that institution.
To address the immediate concem of ensuring that Plaintiffs are aware of
developments in the case, I will provide each Plaintiff with a copy of any document filed
electronically by his co-Plaintiff
I will be on vacation from July 24 - 28, 2006. After that time, if Your Honor
requires additional information, I am available at the convenience of the Court.
Respectfully,
/s/ Eileen Kelly
Eileen Kelly
Deputy Attorney General
Enclosures
cc: Darren Lamont Seawright
SBI # 400140
Daniel M. Woods
SBI # 164728