Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act

S 5580, the *Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act*, requires the federal government to create a secure electronic system within two years that protects attorney-client communications for incarcerated people. It prohibits monitoring of these protected messages between inmates (held by Bureau of Prisons or U.S. Marshals Service) and their attorneys or legal representatives. The system mandates that any access to such communications - beyond the inmate - requires a court-issued warrant, with prosecutors first reviewing messages to confirm if privilege applies, and bars prosecutors from using reviewed messages in related cases. This law directly affects incarcerated individuals and their legal teams by ensuring digital communications remain confidential under standard attorney-client privilege rules.