Solano County
“In my life, I have experienced almost every kind of communication a family can have with someone in custody — overnight visits, contact visits, through-glass, and video calls. Relying on anything other than contact visits really takes something away from the relationship. Through-glass is heartbreaking. Video is even further removed,” said plaintiff Joseph Duran Jr., whose son is jailed in Solano County.
In Solano County, California, our lawsuit alleges that the County, the Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Brad DeWall, and the for-profit telecom company iWebVisit conspired to profit from banning in-person contact visits at the county jails, thereby forcing families to pay for expensive video calls to stay in touch with their loved ones.
In Etter v. Solano County, plaintiffs are children and parents of individuals who are incarcerated in Solano County Together, the plaintiffs are asserting a fundamental right to family association under the California Constitution, which the Defendants’ for-profit family separation scheme violates.
This is the fourth lawsuit filed as part of the larger Right 2 Hug Project, which raises novel and vital constitutional questions, including whether the government can ban all contact between children and parents merely because one of them is jailed, even though the ban on visits serves no compelling government interest and was adopted for the purpose of making money.
“Ever since my dad went to jail, I haven’t been able to hug him, touch him, or be in the same room as him. I feel our relationship changing. I notice myself feeling less connected to him. I can tell that I’m distancing myself from him even though I don’t want to [... ],” said 15-year-old plaintiff BaKari Jacoby Etter, whose father is detained in Solano County.
The lawsuit was filed on July 22, 2026. Plaintiffs are represented by Berkeley Law’s Criminal Law & Justice Center, BraunHagey & Borden LLP, Civil Rights Corps, and Public Justice.
Filings:
Complaint
This is the third lawsuit filed as part of the larger Right 2 Hug Project, that raises novel and vital constitutional questions, including whether the government can ban children and parents from visiting each other if one of them is jailed even though the policy serves no compelling government interest other than making money.
“Paying to talk to [my son] creates a severe financial strain for my family. Because of the cost of calls to Shawn, I struggle to pay for food and medical care […] every dollar I spend on HomeWAV is money I cannot save towards Shawn’s bond to bring him home.”
- Ashlee Trujillo, plaintiff whose 18-year-old son is detained in Adams County
The lawsuit was filed on October 28th, 2025 in state court in Colorado against Sheriff Gene Claps, the Board of County Commissioners of Adams County, Jail Division Chief William Dunning, and carceral telecom company HomeWAV. The plaintiffs are suing to immediately restore contact visitation rights at the jail.
Plaintiffs are represented by Public Justice, Civil Rights Corps, Maxted Law, LLC, Spero Justice Center, Singleton Schreiber, LLP and the National Center for Youth Law.
