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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Topic: Recordings of Conversations
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Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 06-13-2003 09:19 AM
The day-to-day things that most people say are so mundane that recording them is a waste of time. The only time it's worth recording what people say is when there is some artistic, historical or documentary value.
I'm not going to say that nobody has ever been blackmailed by secret recordings. But, don't you think that kind of thing happens only in the movies? Think about it realistically... Secret recordings are 99% inadmissible as evidence in court. Under some circumstances, the person making the recording can be in legal trouble themselves.
The "value" of a secret recording being used for blackmail is, IMHO, mostly psychological. The victim would have to be afraid to be embarassed by his own words. The value of what's recorded must be of such a great importance that it rises above any legal consequences that the recorder might face.
Let's say, I admitted to you that I committed a murder and told you where the body is. The cops can't use that as evidence. The recording is inadmissible. Even if the cops went to where I said on the tape and found the body they can't use that against me. It's "Fruit of a poison tree". It doesn't mean that they can't use other evidence (like DNA taken from the body) to nail me but that tape recording is useless.
I would say that there are two situations where secret recordings are valuable for blackmail. First would be egregious crimes... serial murders or "crimes against humanity"... Something so "bad" that the person being recorded would never have said that otherwise. The only other situation where blackmail would be valuable would be a "heat of the moment" type scenario. Let's say that we were standing near an angry mob, consisting entirely of some ethnic minority. If you played a recording of me saying, "All <ethnic slur> must die!", I would be in a heap of trouble!
Other than that, there must be some overriding reason why I MUST be secretly recorded for it to have value. The only other way is (for the police) to get a warrant. If not, the person who MADE the recording is likely to get into more trouble than the person BEING recorded!
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Dave Williams
Wet nipple scene
Posts: 1836
From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 06-13-2003 01:38 PM
Here are the rules regarding the type of recordings you speak of as far as a court of law goes...
The alleged recording was made in a "public place" on "private property". What makes it public is that the general public is invited upon certain contingincies, i.e. you pay the admission price.
Even though the location is a privately owned place, the business is a public access venture, adhereing to open access laws under the civil rights act and other similar legislation and law.
She can make the recording without your permission. However, to be admissable in a court of law, she must be able to prove that the recording was made in the manner that she says she did.
In order to prove that, she must have had at least TWO other individuals help her set up the recording, both must be of a disinterested party, or no one she knows. In other words, she would have needed the help of a private investigator or other professional that can testify in court as to the nature of the recording. This is required as recordings are very easy to alter with very inexpensive computers and software readily to any consumer with cash or a readily available credit card.
She must also be able to prove on the recording itself that the so called "confession" was not co-erced in any way. In other words, if she led you in the direction of saying what was said, the recording is inadmissable in court proceedings. If on the other hand you just blurted it out without help, it is admissable.
Even if it is admitted in court as evidence, it still does not prove a contract existed at all to hand over the computer to her. Most states will not accept an oral contract as final, which is why any contractual lawyer will tell you to "GET IT IN WRITING". And even then, get it notarized!
I hope that helps.
Dave
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