Recording statutes

[BB62]

Giving credit to the original poster, GRIDBOY, on Open Carry.org:

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Came across this list of state wiretapping/recording statutes. Montana specifically unexempts public officials or employees on the job.

http://www.rcfp.org/taping/states.html

gridboy

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It concerns me because it appears recording is illegal in PA...?

[Pa. Patriot]

Originally Posted by BB62

It concerns me because it appears recording is illegal in PA...?

Recording is not "illegal" in PA.

PA is a two party consent state.
BUT
PA wiretapping law applies only to places and conversations expected to be private.
The way I understand it, most conversations in most public places will have "no expectation of privacy".

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. §§ 5703, 5704: It is a felony to intercept any wire, oral or electronic communication without the consent of all participants. It also is a felony to disclose or use the contents of a communication when there is reason to know those contents were obtained through an illegal interception.

Under the statute, consent is not required for the taping of a non-electronic communication uttered by a person who does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in that communication. See definition of "oral communication," 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5702.

A trial court has held that a communication protected by the legislation is one in which there is an expectation that it will not be recorded by any electronic device, rather than one in which there is a general expectation of privacy. Thus, the fact that a participant may believe he will have to reveal the contents of a communication, or that other parties may repeat the contents, does not necessarily mean that he would have expected that it would be recorded, and it is the expectation that the communication would not be recorded that triggers the wiretapping law's protections. Pennsylvania v. McIvor, 670 A.2d 697 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1996), petition for appeal denied, 692 A.2d 564 (Pa. 1997).

Anyone whose communication has been unlawfully intercepted can recover actual damages in the amount of $100 per day of violation or $1,000, whichever is greater, and also can recover punitive damages, litigation costs and attorney fees. 18 Pa. Const. Stat.§ 5725.

A person commits a misdemeanor if he views, photographs or films another person in a state of full or partial nudity without consent, under circumstances where the nude person has an expectation of privacy.18 Pa. Const. Stat.§ 7507.1.

[LittleRedToyota]

Originally Posted by Pa. Patriot

BUT
PA wiretapping law applies only to places and conversations expected to be private.
The way I understand it, most conversations in most public places will have "no expectation of privacy".

i disagree. the case you quoted points out that the standard is, at least sometimes, the expectation that the conversation will not be electronically recorded rather than a general expectation of privacy:

A trial court has held that a communication protected by the legislation is one in which there is an expectation that it will not be recorded by any electronic device, rather than one in which there is a general expectation of privacy. Thus, the fact that a participant may believe he will have to reveal the contents of a communication, or that other parties may repeat the contents, does not necessarily mean that he would have expected that it would be recorded, and it is the expectation that the communication would not be recorded that triggers the wiretapping law's protections. Pennsylvania v. McIvor, 670 A.2d 697 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1996), petition for appeal denied, 692 A.2d 564 (Pa. 1997).

this seems to me to pretty clearly state that it is an expectation of non-recording, rather than a general "expectation of privacy", that triggers this statute.

so, my non-lawyer guess would be that if there was no general expectation of privacy, you could record someone's voice as long as they knew you were doing so...even if they didn't actually agree to it. however, if they don't know you are recording their voice, you are violating the law.