Can you put a recorder on your telephone at home or the office and record
the conversations of people talking on your phone? The Federal law and the
law in Louisiana are substantially the same on this subject. Read on and
you will find out.
The Federal statement is at 18 USC 2511, et seq and the Louisiana support is
at LRS 15:1301, et seq.
It is illegal and a criminal offence to intercept any electronic communication
when neither party to the conversation is aware of the interception and has not
agreed to the interception. If the party doing the interception is a party to
the conversation, then that party has given his consent and it is OK to
make the interception. Thus, if either party is aware of the interception
and agrees to it, then there is no violation.
In other words, you can put a
recording device on your phone and record all the conversations in which you
participate--whether you tell the other person on the line or not. You can put
a device on the line when two other people are talking as long as one of them
knows of it and agrees to it. However, you cannot simply intercept a
conversation in your home between your spouse and another person or between
your child and his friend without their permission. If neither party to the
conversation is aware of the interception and has not agreed to it, it is
illegal.
Under both Federal and Louisiana law, there is a civil cause of action for
actual damages (but not less than $100/day with a $1,000 minimum), plus
reasonable attorney's fees and costs and punitive damages.
Further, no information received from the interception can be used as
evidence in any legal proceeding if it was obtained in violation of the laws
referenced above.
In summary, if there was no agreement to the interception by at least one of
the parties to the conversation, then the interception was illegal.
======================== WARNING ======================= AND DISCLAIMER This information is provided for the reader's benefit in becoming familiar with the legal matters discussed. Your particular facts may be different from the points above. You should not rely on the above data without consulting a attorney to discuss the specific facts of your case and the law of your state. ==========================================================
If you live in Louisiana and want to talk about your situation, please call me at:
Marvin E. Owen
Attorney-CPA
3036 Brakley Drive
Baton Rouge, La 70816
ph 225-292-0099
toll-free 1-888-292-0116
e-mail marvin@meocpa.com
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