Your papers please

[measl at mfn.org]

On Thu, 18 Oct 2001, Jamie Lawrence wrote:

> Does anyone know the legal issues surrounding the act of taking
> a pocket tape recorder and recording at least my side of  this sort
> of transaction?

There's actually two questions implied here:

	(1) What are the _legal_ implications?  The answer will depend on
whe the event(s) take place;

	(2) Realistically, what can you expect?

I can't address number 1 directly, but I can address number two from first
hand experience.

In 1983 I was questioned by a (New York) police officer, who interrupted
my quite open and obvious dictation into a hand held microcassette
recorder to do it.  Since he saw the thing in my hand, and did not ask me
to turn it off, I let it run during what was essentially a "Terry Stop".

When the Terry stop escalated, and I was ordered to follow the officer for
more questioning, I asked him, while holding out the recorder for the
answer, whether I was under arrest.  Answer: no.  Followed by "Am I free
to go?".  Answer no.  "Sir, I believe these two conditions are mutually
exclusive: either I am under arrest, or I am free to go.  As I have things
to do, I need to know which it is, so that I may either go do them, or
call my attorney to join us".

My reward was a crushed microcassette recorder, a "missing" cassette (he
claimed the recorder was both damaged and empty at the time he first
encountered it), and an arrest (and conviction no less!).

On the way to central booking, he helped himself to my pocket change to
pay for the coffee and doughnuts for him and his three buddies (they
actually stopped en-route, leaving me cuffed in the car alone for about
20 minutes).

So, in a nutshell, expect that the recorder will be "empty", and quite
damaged when/if it is ever returned to you (which mine wasn't, even after
multiple applications).

-- 
Yours, 
J.A. Terranson
sysadmin at mfn.org

If Governments really want us to behave like civilized human beings, they
should give serious consideration towards setting a better example:
Ruling by force, rather than consensus; the unrestrained application of
unjust laws (which the victim-populations were never allowed input on in
the first place); the State policy of justice only for the rich and 
elected; the intentional abuse and occassionally destruction of entire
populations merely to distract an already apathetic and numb electorate...
This type of demogoguery must surely wipe out the fascist United States
as surely as it wiped out the fascist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

The views expressed here are mine, and NOT those of my employers,
associates, or others.  Besides, if it *were* the opinion of all of
those people, I doubt there would be a problem to bitch about in the
first place...
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