Can I Have Visitors While Serving Time In Arizona?

Sometimes, a defendant being convicted of a crime and serving time behind bars is inevitable when the evidence is stacked against them. Incarceration isn’t just hard on the convicted defendant, but on their friends and family as well. This is especially true if the defendant has young children from whom they will be separated during their sentence. While time with loved ones during prison visitation is limited, it can be crucial to an inmate’s well-being until their release date. So can a defendant be denied visitation after being convicted of a criminal offense in Arizona? The answer is usually no. Read on for more information on this topic. To schedule your free consultation with an experienced Arizona criminal defense attorney, call 480-833-8000.

Conjugal Visitation in Arizona

Most people are familiar with the concept of conjugal visitation, or visitation of a romantic nature with a prison inmate. This privilege is sometimes only available to spouses, but in some areas, romantic partners who aren’t formally married can also be granted conjugal visitation. But conjugal visitation has become increasingly rare over the years across the United States. It is barred in all federal prisons. Only California, Washington, Connecticut, and New York offer defendants in their states conjugal visitation. It doesn’t take long to review that list and see that Arizona isn’t on it. That means that those who are in romantic relationships with prison inmates, whether they met them before or after their conviction, will need to wait until their release before they can engage in physical intimacy. 

The Prison Visitation Application Process

There is a strict process that must be completed before someone will be approved to visit an inmate in an Arizona prison. Visits are also more time-consuming than many initially believe. Depending on where the applicant lives in Arizona, the drive could easily be several hours. 

Visitation applicants must start the application process by filling out Form 911-4, which can only be done through the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry (ADCRR). The applicant should wait until the inmate has completed intake at the Alhambra or Perryville reception units before submitting their application. However, it will typically take about 60 days for an application to be processed after filing. With the exception of attorneys, minors, religious leaders, and foster parents or legal guardians of foster children, there is a $25 application fee. This is so a criminal background check can be conducted on the applicant; convicted criminals aren’t allowed to maintain contact with currently incarcerated inmates. 

The rules imposed upon the applicant don’t end after the application has been accepted. The visitor doesn’t show up any time they feel like it, and instead only comes to the prison during scheduled visiting hours. You can find the visitation schedules for Arizona’s prisons here. Schedules can vary within a prison based on the inmate’s cell block and which phase they are in. A prisoner progresses through phases with their good conduct throughout their incarceration. Phase I is the most restrictive, while Phase III inmates have the most benefits. At certain prisons, only Phase III inmates can receive visitors on minor holidays like Labor Day and Valentine’s Day. 

Visitors are required to arrive and check in within one hour of the scheduled visiting time, which typically lasts for 4 hours. Up to 6 visitors are allowed per visit, and they should all bring a government-issued form of identification with their birth date and current address. There are several restrictions on what visitors can wear to a prison. Provocative clothing, clothing with metal accents, and clothing with offensive writing are just a few of the types of clothing that visitors are banned from wearing to prison. Visitors can bring coins if they wish to purchase snacks and other items from the prison vending machines. 

Barred Visitors

Although convicted felons probably don’t want to be anywhere near a prison after being released, they will not pass the background check required for a prison visitation application. Co-defendants for the same criminal offense are not allowed visitation with each other. A judge may also issue a protective order to prevent visitation between the inmate and a certain individual, such as the victim. The judge may not bar the inmate from visitation by their legal counsel. While an inmate may be ordered to extended periods of solitary confinement due to their conduct while behind bars, it is highly unusual for a judge to order an inmate to a blanket ban on all visitors. This could raise concerns about the Constitution’s guarantee against Cruel and Unusual Punishment. But prison administrators also have the ability to restrict an inmate’s visitation. They can limit or deny visitation for a number of reasons, such as facility rules, security emergencies, and the inmate’s disciplinary infractions. 

Letters and Phone Calls

Beyond visitation, inmates can receive letters and phone calls to maintain their bond with the outside world. But like everything else in a prison inmate’s life, these don’t come without restrictions. Most prison facilities have phones, but many also offer tablet devices to inmates as well. Approved callers can reach inmates at their tablet when they have prepaid for calls with an AdvanceConnect account. Each inmate has a Personal Allowed Number List, or PAN List, of 20 people from whom they can receive tablet calls. Calls from relatives and acquaintances will be monitored, but there are special procedures for privileged calls with legal counsel. So if an inmate admits to a crime or gossips about their cellmate on a tablet call, that can be reviewed by prison officials. 

Like actual phones, physical mail is beginning to give way to electronic forms of communication as well. Most inmates will now receive letters as a digital scan to their laptops, an improved security measure. Some types of mail and packages will still be received as physical mail. It is important that these mail parcels be labeled correctly for them to be delivered to their intended inmate. You can find the mailing addresses for Arizona’s prisons here. Those approved on the PAN list can also send electronic messages to reach out to the inmate more conveniently. 

Facing Charges that Could Lead to Serious Prison Time? Review Your Case with a Dedicated Private Defender. 

Prisoners actually have several ways to communicate with a relatively large amount of pre-approved friends and family members. Visitation can be supplemented by phone calls, mail, and digital communication through a tablet. But none of this compares to time spent with loved ones in the real world, without prison guards and security cameras monitoring every second of the interaction. The best way to maximize your time out from behind bars is by retaining one of Arizona’s Top-Rated Criminal Defense Lawyers for your case. Charges can stack up lengthy prison sentences and expensive fines, so failing to aggressively defend your case now could haunt you for years to come. But you might not feel fully confident with the public defender assigned to your case by the court, and you can later be held responsible for their costs, if your income allows. That’s why you might as well weigh your private defense options with a free consultation by phone. Contact My AZ Criminal Defense for your free phone consultation today at 480-833-8000 for more information.