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I just had to post this Souce my e-mail Legal GroundsFindLaw's Common Law Blog) FUN POST WITH SERIOUS WIRE TAPPING TEDDY BEAR
A Nebraska man is suing his ex-wife and former father-in-law, accusing them of spying on him by hiding a recording device inside his daughter's teddy bear. William Duane Lewton claims his ex-wife and her dad attempted to present the audio recordings in the couples' divorce proceedings (the judge in the case found that they violated Nebraska's wiretapping law and couldn't be used as evidence). Read more...
Related Resources
• State by State Summaries of Recording Laws (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press)
"Can We Tape?" Rule of Law Rock On RockYou.com - photo sharing, MySpace slideshows, MySpace codes, MySpace music
Minnesota 626A.02, Minnesota Statutes 2007
It is legal for a person to record a wire, oral or electronic communication if that person is a party to the communication, or if one of the parties has consented to the recording — so long as no criminal or tortious intent accompanies the recording. Minn. Stat. § 626A.02. Unlawful recordings, or disclosure of their contents when there is reason to know the information was obtained illegally, carry maximum penalties of imprisonment for five years and fines of $20,000. In addition, civil liability for violations statutorily can include three times the amount of actual damages or statutory damages of up to $10,000, as well as punitive damages, litigation costs and attorney fees. Minn. Stat. § 626A.13.
Under state court interpretations, when an employee of a local television station secretly videotaped a veterinarian treating a pet in a private home for an investigative news report, the station did not violate the wiretapping law because its employee was a party to the communication and it had no tortious intent. Regardless of the fact that allegations of tortious trespass existed, the court found the station’s intent was commercial, not tortious. Copeland v. Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc., 526 N.W.2d 402 (Minn. Ct. App. 1995), cert. denied, 1998 Minn. LEXIS 77 (Minn. Jan. 28, 1998).
It is a misdemeanor to use any type of device for “observing, photographing, recording, amplifying or broadcasting sounds or events through the window or other aperture of a sleeping room in a hotel, a tanning booth or any other place where a reasonable person would have an expectation of privacy and has exposed or is likely to expose their intimate parts or the clothing covering the immediate area of the intimate parts.” Minn. Stat. § 609.746. State v. Morris, 644 N.W.2d 114 (Minn. App. 2002) (defendant who concealed video camera in bag and used it to videotape up the skirts of females in department store violated statute prohibiting interference with privacy).




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