Prison law lawyer in A Coruña and Galicia

Spanish law allows ordinary prison leave of up to seven days for an inmate in second grade who has served a quarter of the sentence and has no record of bad conduct, up to thirty-six days a year, rising to forty-eight in third grade. Meeting those requirements does not create an automatic right to leave, and the Constitutional Court has said so. In practice the prison’s Treatment Board, and then the judge, also look at how much of the sentence remains, the criminal record, how earlier leaves went and the risk of the inmate not returning or reoffending, which the prison’s technical team assesses in its report. Third grade and parole work the same way, because the law sets minimums and the file decides the rest.

That is why a lawyer’s work in prison law starts before anything is requested, by reviewing the inmate’s file, and continues with the complaint or appeal if the answer is no. At Perseus & RC Abogados I handle it myself, Luis Jurado Cano, registered with the A Coruña Bar Association under number 6317, for inmates of Teixeiro prison, in Curtis, and of the other prisons in Galicia, and for their families when they are the ones who call. Cases from Teixeiro are decided by the prison supervision court of A Coruña (Juzgado de Vigilancia Penitenciaria), now a section of the new Tribunal de Instancia. What happens before sentencing is on the criminal law page.

Prison leave

The inmate applies and the Treatment Board decides with the technical team’s report. If the Board approves, the leave still needs authorisation, from the prison supervision judge when the inmate is in second grade and the leave is longer than two days, and from the prison service headquarters (Secretaría General de Instituciones Penitenciarias) when it is two days or less or the inmate is in third grade. If the Board refuses, it must give its reasons and state that the inmate can complain to the judge. In that complaint each reason is answered. If the Board relies on the release date being far off, we put forward what weighs the other way, such as work, courses completed, treatment programmes, a clean disciplinary record and a family with a home ready to take the inmate in. The courts accept that distance from the end of the sentence is not enough on its own to refuse leave, although it tips the balance when other factors point the same way.

Extraordinary leave for the death or serious illness of a close relative, or for another important and proven reason, follows a different rule, because the law says it must be granted unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Grades and third grade

Sentences are served in grades. First grade is the closed regime, second the ordinary regime and third the open regime, which allows the inmate to go out to work or study during the day. Once the judgment reaches the prison, the Treatment Board has two months to propose the initial classification and headquarters has two more, extendable by two, to decide. The grade is then reviewed at least every six months. With sentences of more than five years, the court may order that third grade cannot be granted before half the sentence is served, and for terrorism, organised crime and some sexual and trafficking offences against minors that wait is mandatory. Third grade also requires the civil liability to have been met, judged against the inmate’s real means. In third grade the inmate can voluntarily accept an electronic tag, and then no longer has to sleep in prison.

Parole

Parole (libertad condicional) is now the suspension of the rest of the sentence, granted by the prison supervision judge. The general rule requires third grade, three quarters of the sentence served and good conduct. It can be brought forward to two thirds for inmates who have worked or studied steadily, a little earlier still with victim reparation or treatment programmes, and exceptionally to half for a first prison sentence of no more than three years, except for sexual offences. Inmates over seventy and those with very serious incurable illnesses can obtain it without waiting for those fractions. If parole is revoked, the rest of the sentence must be served and the time spent outside does not count. If the judge refuses it, he can set a period of six months to a year before it can be requested again.

Appeals

Refused leave, classification decisions and disciplinary sanctions are challenged before the prison supervision judge. His decisions can be reconsidered by the same judge and then appealed, and on appeal a lawyer is required by law. Appeals on classification and parole go to the court that passed sentence, and those on prison life go to the Provincial Court of the area where the prison is, which for Teixeiro is A Coruña. The victims of some serious offences can also appeal certain of these decisions if they asked to be notified, as explained on the private prosecution page. Before prison, what is at stake is whether the sentence can be suspended, covered for fraud cases in accused of fraud. Once the sentence is over, the next step is to expunge the criminal record.

Where we are

Rúa Torreiro 13, 3.º C, 15001 A Coruña, Spain. Phone +34 677 841 007. If the family lives outside Spain, we start by phone or video call, in English, with the judgment and the latest prison decisions at hand.