Court blocks FCC attempt to cap prison phone rates

Once again, a Federal Communications Commission attempt to lower the price inmates pay for phone calls has been blocked in court. A ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted a petition for a stay filed by Securus Technologies. This puts a halt to rate caps on inmate calling services that were implemented in August.

“Petitioners have satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review,” judges wrote.

The FCC has repeatedly been stymied in attempts to lower the rates inmates pay for phone calls to family, friends, and lawyers. After a March 2016 federal appeals court ruling stayed new rate caps of 11¢ to 22¢ per minute on both interstate and intrastate calls from prisons, the FCC proposed new caps of 13¢ to 31¢ per minute in an attempt to satisfy the court. Those new caps were halted in the latest ruling.