[roybean]

One party and Two party list state by state, but remember in federal court the recorded call admissible!
States Requiring One Party Notification
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
District Of Columbia
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky Louisiana
Maine
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oklahoma Oregon
Ohio
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming




States Requiring Two Party Notification
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Massachusetts
Maryland
Michigan
Montana New Hampshire
Pennsylvania
Washington

[Hedwig]

I have always disagreed with the concept that you can tape all calls if you're going to use it in federal court. Living in Maryland, I heard a lot more about the laws when the issue with Linda Tripp and recording the Monica Lewinsky calls. She was given immunity from federal charges before she testified, which is why she was only charged with violating state wiretapping laws, not federal.

This web site states that taping in a two-party state without consent is a violation of federal wiretapping laws. I have several relatives who are or were in law enforcement, and that's what I've always been told.

Do you have any case law (or statutory, but I don't believe it exists) that says you can tape in one-party states if it's a federal case? I've always been afraid that if it were reported you could be charged, and I'd hate to see that happen to anyone I advised.

[roybean]

In two party states you have to be a little slick about it; you can always set your answering machine to say (just like they do it to other people), "your call may be recorded for quality assurance," and if they keep talking, hey, they were warned. If you're on a call with someone, just ask, "Are you recording this phone call?" And they say "Our calls are randomly monitored," well, ok, record away! What's more, you can record it and transcribe it.
Life is a journey Grasshopper and there are many ways to skin a cat.

[Hedwig]

I agree you can record and use it to write notes, but in some places admitting you recorded it is a crime, so be careful.

I believe the law allows monitoring for quality purposes, but I'm not sure that the other party saying that allows you to record. The best bet is to start off by saying "I am informing you that this call is being recorded." Then if they keep talking, for sure you're legal.

[Rottweiler]

The argument for recording all calls you make or get is simple: Wiretapping laws are intended to prevent third-party interception of calls while they are being transmitted without express permission or a court order. YOU are a party to the call. So are they. Applying wiretapping laws in such cases is a misapplication of law. Did these charges stick? Yes, because the judges and/or juries did not understand this, and/or the defense failed to defend properly. Or, in some cases, the law was written badly and may be unconstitiutional, which needs to be taken up with the legislatures involved.

(Just because people have been arrested for this does not mean the law enforcement peoople are right: They are not attorneys or judges, and can arrest on the mere suspicion of a violation. Whether there is one or not.)

If your view were the proper one, Hedwig, any recording of any call by any means, including a voice mail system or an answering machine--or a supervision tool at the workplace--would also be illegal. This is not the case.

The proper means of legal attack if the other party to the call did not want the call recorded would be invasion of privacy and, possibly, entrapment laws.

BTW: The use of the 'quality assurance' disclaimer IS there for a reason: To cover the butts of the one calling and/or receiving the call. That is implied permission to record for the other party. Also, if they have called and violated before, then you have a reason to suspect they will do so again; that makes ALL states one-party, since you are preserving evidence related to a violation of law.

[Hedwig]

Originally Posted by Rottweiler

If your view were the proper one, Hedwig, any recording of any call by any means, including a voice mail system or an answering machine--or a supervision tool at the workplace--would also be illegal. This is not the case.

Of course not. It's the UNKNOWING recording of calls. Answering machines and voice mail systems are KNOWN recording devices. If you don't want to be recorded, you hang up.

If it's a recorded supervision system, you will be told that your call may be recorded or monitored. Many systems, such as the one I've used, don't record but simply let the supervisor listen in.

By the way (and this is true even in government phone systems) if the call is determined to be a personal call, the person monitoring must IMMEDIATELY disconnect and not engage in further monitoring.

[Moph]

When the customer service person comes on the line tell them you do not want the call recorded. The company is supposed to discontinue recording at that point. But it's a two-edge sword in the Dark Side's favor. A mortgage representative once lied about what they had said to me. I asked to speak to the supervisor, informed her that an announcement had been made that the call was being recorded, and to please retrieve it because it would verify my statement. When she came back on the line a few minutes later she said there was no recording. You betcha.

[Hedwig]

I worked in an office like that. The reason they say "Your call MAY be recorded..." is that not all calls are recorded. It can be done at random, you can "target" certain employees who are new or who have problems, or you can record them all.

When you buy something, they will often transfer you and then say "this call is being recorded so we know we have the correct information" or something like that. At that point, the call WILL be recorded.

[GrimRepo]

Company I once worked for, if someone heard the beeps and said they did not wish to be recorded, our policy was to hang up on the person immediately.

[JulienPDX]

I dont understand why recording any calls you make or recieve would be considered illegal??? That is a stupid law.

[Hedwig]

It's a privacy issue. You can always record as long as all parties consent. But the idea is that if you record someone without their knowledge, that can be considered an invasion of their privacy.

[JulienPDX]

Originally Posted by Hedwig

It's a privacy issue. You can always record as long as all parties consent. But the idea is that if you record someone without their knowledge, that can be considered an invasion of their privacy.

If you call my phone and have a conversation with me and I agree to keep the conversation confidential..that is one thing.

But if I don't know you and you call and start making threats or lie to me about stuff then you can be damned sure I'm going to do everything in my power to ensure you hang if you do that. I have always recorded my calls that I have made to various "big companies" due to the fact that customer service reps/billing reps etc have a knack for getting shit wrong--and since it doens't seem to behoove most corporations to train their employees (or their outsourced employees to be closer to reality) then its a great weapon to use against them and convince them to compensate you for your trouble.

My god, if I call a company..more often than not..they claim my call "may" be recorded ...I figure they should expect to get the same treatmetn from me.

[DUSTY]

Recent Florida ruling decided it's not your state but, the state where the utterance was made. So even though Florida is a two-party state I can record a one-party state without notice, just did!!!

[Hedwig]

Don't try it if you live in Maryland. Ask Linda Tripp about that.

[roybean]

Originally Posted by DUSTY

Recent Florida ruling decided it's not your state but, the state where the utterance was made. So even though Florida is a two-party state I can record a one-party state without notice, just did!!!

What case is that?

[Hedwig]

I believe Enigma posted something about that case, but I'll have to see if I can find it.