View Single Post
  #36  
Old 06-30-2013, 9:58 PM
cuchillo negro's Avatar
cuchillo negro cuchillo negro is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Indio, California
Posts: 156
iTrader: 0 / 0%
Default

Federal law permits one party to record a conversation without the consent of the other, while California law requires the consent of all parties.

The key provision is ยง631(a) which states, in part: “Any person who, by means of any machine, instrument or contrivance… intentionally taps, or makes any unauthorized connection, whether physically, electronically, acoustically, inductively, or otherwise, with any telegraph or telephone wire, line, cable, or instrument, including the wire, line, cable, or instrument of any internal telephonic communication system, or who willfully and without the consent of all parties to the communication, or in any unauthorized manner, reads, or attempts to read, or to learn the contents or meaning of any message, report, or communication while the same is in transit or passing over any wire, line, or cable, or is being sent from, or received at any place within this state…” is guilty of a crime.

Section 631 is often combined with 632(a) which states: “Every person who, intentionally and without the consent of all parties to a confidential communication, by means of any electronic amplifying or recording device, eavesdrops upon or records the confidential communication, whether the communication is carried on among the parties in the presence of one another or by means of a telegraph, telephone or other electronic device, except a radio…” shall be guilty of a crime.

In summary, to criminally violate 632 PC - A person must: eavesdrop on or record; a confidential communication; using an amplifying or recording device; and do so with intent to violate 632 PC

The only exemption from violating 632 PC if recording the conversation is to prove a crime. Private Citizens can get around the law against eavesdropping if they are recording conversations in order to gather evidence about certain kinds of crimes. This exception applies if:

1. The person doing the recording is one of the parties to the conversation, and
2. That person is recording the conversation in order to gather evidence that they reasonably believe is related to the commission, by the other party to the conversation, of one of the following crimes kidnapping, bribery, any felony involving violence against another such as murder
3. Annoying phone calls (Penal Code 653 (m) this less serious crime (Penal Code 653m) may not seem to fit in with the rest-but in fact it makes some sense to allow people who think they are receiving annoying telephone calls to record those calls for evidence.
Reply With Quote