Eavesdropping against law even for parent, court says (WA)

[Esslinger]

In a case of snooping parents vs. their children, a mother's eavesdropping on a telephone conversation between the woman's daughter and her daughter's boyfriend violated the children's privacy, the state Supreme Court ruled yesterday.

The high court unanimously reversed a 2000 robbery conviction against Oliver Christensen, 22, of Friday Harbor, in a case based in part on the testimony of the mother and what she heard in that telephone conversation.

"The court said it is against the law to intercept or snoop on anybody's private conversation and that even a child has privacy rights," said Christensen's attorney, Michael Tario. "And further, the law says it is a crime for someone to do that, and that whatever is heard cannot be mentioned in court."


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002115125_eavesdrop10m.html

[lenidog]

1. I am still thinking on this one

but I am leaning towards it being BS. Maybe someone else can shift me towards one direction or the other.

[NVMojo]

2. well ...one parent taping the other one talking to their child ...

didn't mean they could use the tape against the other parent in a custody case. It is ruled as inadmissable due to taping someone without their knowledge...and that's been around for awhile in most states ..

[WildClarySage]

3. One the one hand, as a parent,

I am totally responsible if my kid messes up. No question. So I need to be informed. On the other hand, this sounds an awful lot like people wanting to substitute the hard work of having a relationship with their child for a nanny state to dictate the terms of the relationship. So if the law says I can find out what my kid's doing by spying, I'm off the hook as far as actually developing a relationship with him.

[TheFarseer]

6. I was still deciding how I felt until I read your post

You hear about parents getting in legal trouble because their kid messed up all the time. At the same time, they have no right to evesdrop to find out what their kid is up to? That's BS. You can't make what the kid does the parent's fault and yet take away a parent's right to find out what their kid is doing so that maybe they can stop them. That sucks if you don't have a good relationship with your kid, but it's not always the parent's fault when that happens.

[unblock]

4. "against law" in the headline is misleading

the seattle times used the phrase "against law" in their headline.

this is misleading because it suggests that you might be subject to civil and/or criminal penalties for "eavesdropping" on your daughter (if you can really legally call listening in on a conversation made to your own home phone "eavesdropping").

in fact, what the mother did was perfectly legal. all the court said was that the evidence the mother gathered through that means was inadmissable in a criminal trial against one of the parties to the call.

[Maat]

5. Thank you, Unblock. I was about to say the same thing.

This is an evidentiary ruling, not a statement of how someone can or cannot be prosecuted.

But if you do it, it might not be usable down the road.

This almost has the feel of a court test, in the sense that the parents might have been praying that the tape would not be used, but the defense attorney wanted to establish new or clear ground with a ruling.

[shance]

7. However, the government can enter your house, pop a little popcorn

throw in a few blockbuster movies, thumb through all your stuff, picking and choosing what they may or may not want to take, and have NO PROBABLE CAUSE all at the same time, other than they just can do it.

Now we witness a judge that empowers a child over his parents in the court of law for eavesdropping. I understand the premise and/or the legal perspective, however I also wonder if the parents of the Columbine kids would have ever been arrested if they had eavesdropped on their murderous teens?

[Sin]

8. Simple way around this is

Just get a good set of ear plugs and buy one of those boat air horns and or 2000 decibel personal alarm things. after a few times there shall be no listening. If you have problems with your room getting tossed rat traps hidden in the sock drawer go a long way. and or razor blades under dark ledges that hands may go feeling under.
destroying a persons trust enough could lead to some really nasty ways to make sure it doesn't happen again. that is only a small fraction of what I heard from some of the more twisted people I knew during that age.
Now the Columbine kids if there parents ever confronted them at that point they would have been dead most likely and there plan would have happened sooner then expected.
So play an active role in your kids life listen to them talk with them Start early if there having a bad day don't make it worse
find out about there friends by talking to them or there friends parents.Get involved don't go to overboard but don't be totally lax
I mean if you want to take the easy way out sure rough through rooms listen in phone calls heck put cameras up around them get them ready for what the gov wants to do to them.
Then again some kids require that just don't expect them to like you for it.So in conclusion be a Parent first and then if needs be Big brother second :)

[MrMonk]

9. Googled this and found almost nothing

Two original stories, amplified by a bunch of websites and bloggers sharing their ignorance.

Here's the other story, from a Corvallis paper:

http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2004/12/10/news/the_west/friwes03.txt

Can anyone here link me to the court decision, or, at least, a summary prepared by a competent legal reporter?

[Moderator]

10. Duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1058615