SAN ANTONIO – A service provided by Bexar County will allow jail inmates to meet remotely with their attorneys is getting good reviews.
The video teleconferencing allows jailed inmates to have access to their attorneys without face-to-face meetings.
“Attorneys have expressed concerns regarding visiting clients inside the jail during this pandemic," Administrative Judge Ron Rangel said. “They fear bringing anything into the jail, and obviously, we don’t want any type of issues that relate to that.”
Criminal defense attorney Robert Gebbia was among the first to sign up for the service.
“This can provide a real good opportunity, where we schedule visits well in advance and can have private, secure video conferencing with our clients," he said.
Gebbia called the service a boon to every criminal defense practice.
“Where there’s crisis, there’s opportunity,” he said. "This has created a great opportunity for clients and attorneys to have a better communication system.”
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March.
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