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Re: gargoyling the police site (fwd)

From: "Kenneth N. Flaxman" <>
Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 14:19:28 -0500

I meant to comment on this earlier --(IAAL but this is not legal advice --
see the disclaimer below) --

"Eavesdropping laws"  vary from state to state.  Some states allow "one
party consent."
Others require "two party consent."  A good reference is the aclu's page at
http://www.aclu.org/issues/cyber/phonelaw.html    Even though the page
specifically refers
to telephone conversations, the statutes may also extend to the recording of
any conversation,
even when there is no intent that the conversation be private.

Courts (and prosecutors) in some states are more protective of the right to
record what you
hear than courts in other states.  Several years ago, the Illinois courts
construed the statute as
not prohibiting the recording of  a conversation between a motorist and a
police officer, even
though the recording appeared contrary to the statute.  The legislature
responded by amending
the statute to overrule the court decision.

The moral of the story is that  you should check the laws in your
jurisdiction (lawyers are good
for this, btw) if you are about to gargoyle the police.  (Even if the lawyer
is wrong, the fact you
relied on the advice of counsel could be an important factor in trying to
avoid a criminal prosecution.)

Back to lurker mode.

>
>     It recently became law in the U.S.A. for it to be ILLEGAL for the
person
>     being stopped by the police to record the incident, whereas more and
more
>     police cars now have video cameras to record the person being stopped,
>     which is only available to the police, not the defendant most
likely....
>
> There was a court case -in Massachusetts- which decided this.
>
> I'm unaware of any US-wide precedent.
>
> Can you cite caselaw to support this, please?  The MA situation
> is awful enough, but I don't think it applies nationwide, yet.

----------------
-ken
Kenneth N. Flaxman            |    A Law Office!!!!!
Kenneth N. Flaxman P.C.       |    Phone: (312) 427-3200
122 South Michigan Avenue     |      Fax: (312) 427-3930
Suite 1850                    | Internet: 
Chicago, Illinois 60603-6107  |      WEB: http://www.kenlaw.com

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