Are recorders necessary?

j4l said:

Well here's the difference, Sparky, data forensics,and especially surveillance such as vid/audio recordings are an area Ive had quiet a bit of 1st-hand dealings in- from the investigative side, as well as expert witness on evidence, gathered by others, in court.
I've seen how it usually goes down- there are a LOT of little ins/outs to it that arent simply summed the way some of you hope it does in here.

It varies a LOT from one jurisdiction and court to another.Also, there are a ton of rules and proceedures governing such evidence- be it from a lawful LEO entity or John Q.Citizen. It RARELY, if ever, goes down in favor of John Q. and usually ends up with JQ going away for some period of time.

Im not giving anyone legal advice-Im just telling folks that before they jam themselves up and open cans of worms they really dont want opened by doing such recordings, to check with their local laws/statutes.

Which would you prefer? I simply sit and watch boneheads on a forum with interweb shadetree lawyering degrees advise folks to do things that may bring them all kinds of probs? Or would you rather I inform them they should look the matter over a bit more seriously before they find out the hard way?

Click to expand...

Well, here's the thing, BooBoo: The name is eye, not Sparky.

Message board creds and a quarter won't even get you a cup of coffee these days. I still find it ironic that you are the only poster in this thread who is trying to message-board-lawyer while warning others against lending any credence to message-board-lawyers!

The OP was asking about whether or not he should record, not the circumstances under which it was legal. The rest of us assumed that he would research the legality of the specific actions he was to take--and then you whipped out your Internet JD and started giving legal advice! (Flawed advice, at that. You jumped to the unfounded conclusion that recording the stop of a citizen by a police officer as being a private communication.)

So, BooBoo, I am done pointing out the laughable hypocrisy of what you are doing in this thread and will just remind the OP to check the laws in his State regarding recording. Specifically look for the distinction between private conversations and public interactions. I suspect that you will be surprised at the extent to which interactions will be considered public and carry no expectation of privacy.

Oh, and to the OP: We have real-life JDs on this board, with licenses to practice and who have been admitted to one or more bars. One of them is currently defending skidmark. I know that he has surprised me with information on what and where we can record. And he actually knows black-letter and case law. Feel free to take advice from such real-life lawyers.

Neither I nor BooBoo are lawyers.

w/e u need to tell yourself, COMMENT REMOVED BY ADMINISTRATOR: Derogatory term.

But go ahead,OP, and others, take this guy's advice vs. reality, just be sure to call him for bail money.

j4l said:

w/e u need to tell yourself, browneye.

But go ahead,OP, and others, take this guy's advice vs. reality, just be sure to call him for bail money.

Click to expand...

Ohio's a one party consent state. I need neither notice nor permission to record a conversation to which I am a party. That's straight from an experienced criminal attorney.

State vs. Flora, and many other court rulings show that any recording in public is allowed, and that conversations between LEO and "civilians" are usually not private either, if the LEO has no reason to believe you won't go tell someone your encounter he has no expectation of privacy and you can record. (This is for Washington) and we have many LEO recordings here and none of the recording party were ever charged.

Eye was the Maryland case struck down by that state court or SCOTUS?

Haha, I think I'll stick to not recording, jail time doesn't sound fun. I'll be off into the army in a few months, and when I get back Ill have a Michigan State Police badge, so I doubt I'll get harassed before then..I hope.

MikeTheGreek said:

I haven't open carried yet so I was just wondering if people get harassed enough to carry recorders? I've heard all the recordings and everything on youtube from people open carrying, but does it really happen that often?

Click to expand...

Kind of like asking if carrying a firearm is necessary. I open carry and havent had a confrontation with an officer, but like a firearm, best to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Just be sure to know your state laws.

Just remember as with anything, it can work against you.

I have a tiny, old, cheap 1 gig Samsung YP-U1 MP3 Player and it does a GREAT job of recording. I fire it up as I leave the house and carry it around my neck on a lanyard and kill it when I get home and simply let it run all the time I am carrying. That evening I delete the file and recharge. Can't beat this little baby! I keep a few songs on it and headphones with me just to show it IS a Music PLAYER. So it just happens to do voice recording too. :banana:

amzbrady said:

Kind of like asking if carrying a firearm is necessary. I open carry and havent had a confrontation with an officer, but like a firearm, best to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Just be sure to know your state laws.

Click to expand...

The perfect analogy. The second time I was unlawfully stopped for OC, I inadvertently left the house without my recorder. For a couple of blocks I argued with myself about going back and getting it. Fortunately, I won the argument over me, went home, and got it.

Is a voice recorder "required equipment"?

Lets see what Thomas Jefferson has to say...

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."

Click to expand...

Not only is a voice recorder a gem to have in the event you are detained by police, I've found it tends to cut down on some of the "He said, She said" that can go on in daily life. I carry a recorder nearly every day, because you never know when you will need to prove a conversation took place.

Also, I live in a one-party consent state, and IANAL and TINLA.

If you live in a one-party state, carry a voice recorder with you everywhere you go. You never know when you're going to hear a gem of a quote and want to play it back later.

I carry a recorder every time I OC. It's come in handy a few times. It may be the only evidence you have of your rights being violated.