ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has implemented a new emergency regulation on scanning mail and proposed it for permanent adoption, so the public can weigh in. According to the opposition, the new rule gives too much power to machines and threatens constitutionally protected attorney-client communications.

DOCCS proposed the new emergency regulation on legal mail to fight contraband like drugs and weapons in correctional facilities. "Legal mail" describes a specific category, the privileged correspondence sent between incarcerated people and their lawyers.

The plan—which is already in effect on an emergency basis—would use automated detection that potentially destroys documents flagged as suspicious. It would not require a h

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