Ruling Favors Inmates In Collect Calls Case

A ruling by the state's highest court yesterday could open the way for the state to pay millions to the relatives and friends of prison inmates.

In a 4-2 opinion yesterday, the Court of Appeals reversed two lower courts and reinstated a lawsuit alleging that the state's inflated rates for prison collect calls constitute an illegal tax. The lawsuit, filed by the Manhattan-based Center for Constitutional Rights, also says the state infringed on the First Amendment rights of the recipients of the collect calls, who had to pay the higher costs.

While the court did not rule on the constitutional issues, a judge, Robert Smith, called some of the Constitutional claims "quite substantial" in a concurring opinion.

The issue before the court involved a statute of limitations question.

The lawyer arguing the case on behalf of recipients of the collect calls, Rachel Meeropol is asking the state to compensate as many as 100,000 people who may have paid to receive collect calls from prisoners.

One of Governor Spitzer's first moves last month was to eliminate the $3 surcharge on the calls. The prison collect call system is operated by MCI Worldcom. The company remits a portion of the proceeds back to the state, which uses it to defray prison costs.