When someone you love is arrested and taken to the Mecklenburg County Detention Center (Jail), one of the first questions families ask is simple and urgent, “Will a lawyer go see them in jail?”

The answer is yes, attorneys routinely visit clients at the jail. Defense counsel are authorized to meet with incarcerated clients during attorney visitation hours upon presentation of valid credentials. The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Department does not require defense attorneys to reserve visits through the public scheduling systems used for social visitation. Lawyers regularly appear in person to consult with detained clients without advance scheduling when jail operations and court timing allow.

But the fuller explanation is more nuanced. Whether a lawyer actually can meet with a new client in jail before a first court appearance depends far more on time and logistics than permission and the process of going to the Mecklenburg County Jail Intake facility to visit your loved one.