Two years in the past, a person detained at a police station in Kanagawa Prefecture mentioned it was unlawful for a police officer to test and black out the notes he used to speak along with his lawyer. In a lawsuit towards Kanagawa Prefecture, the Yokohama District Court issued a judgment ordering the prefecture to compensate.
Two years in the past, a person who was arrested on suspicion of theft and detained on the Zushi Police Station in Kanagawa Prefecture was writing down the police response on the detention middle in a pocket book offered by his lawyer. Police officers repeatedly checked the contents of the notes and instructed them to black out the notes.
Regarding this, the person’s lawyer mentioned, “The suspect in custody violated the best of entry and confidential communication that assured him to speak freely with the lawyer and was unlawful,” and demanded Kanagawa Prefecture compensation of three.5 million yen. sought and sued.
On the opposite hand, the prefectural police insisted, “It is legally equivalent to a letter, so it is permitted to check it.”
In the ruling on the third, Chief Judge Masashi Hatae of the Yokohama District Court mentioned, “The pocket book is helpful for suspects to convey numerous data to attorneys and obtain recommendation. It is illegitimate to have the suspect checked and blacked out as a result of it violates the suspect’s proper to entry and site visitors,” and ordered the prefecture to pay compensation of 250,000 yen.