NCJ Number
95046
Date Published
1984
Length
88 pages
Annotation
This manual details Federal and State laws governing individuals' secretly recording conversations in which they participate for purposes other than law enforcement or espionage.
Abstract
It first cautions that lawyers who may want to record their conversations with witnesses, clients, or other lawyers should determine the attitude of the State bar toward such recordings. The review of Federal law focuses on the Federal Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and its Title III, which allow an individual to secretly record his or her own telephone conversations with another person, or videotape, secretly record, or film face-to-face encounters with other persons. Each State has followed an independent and unique course regarding the interception of communications, and the Supreme Court has ruled that if there is no State statute on the subject, local practice may not be less restrictive than Title III. The section on State law notes that jurisdictions may differ in their definitions of intercept and discusses the problems of privileged communications. It describes the present state of the law of consensual monitoring in each State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, including citations to relevant State statutes and cases interpreting these laws. The appendixes contain a summary of State laws for quick reference and the American Bar Association's position on attorneys' secretly recording their conversations with other parties.