Phone calls taped and recorded (please help)

[A. R. Brown]

Hello, my name is Adam and I live Texas. I appologize if this is not the correct forum for my question. For the past two months, my girlfriend's parents, whom she was living with have been recording our phone calls without our knowledge. They then disclosed the conversations to my girlfriend's abusive ex-husband who she has two children with. From what I understand of the law concerning taping phone conversations in Texas, they have committed a crime for which there may be both civil and criminal reprecussions. Do we have grounds to file civil and criminal charges, and how do we go about doing this, finding the right lawyer, and obtaining the evidence before they delete everything? They have already caused a lot of irreversible damage, and I feel very violated by this. Thanks for any help or advice.

[FlyingRon]

For criminal charges you go to the police.

For civil charges, the best bet would be to get references on lawyers. Barring that, call the local bar association and ask for a list. Call them and ask what they can do for you and how much it will cost.

[ERAUPIKE]

Originally Posted by A. R. Brown

Hello, my name is Adam and I live Texas. I appologize if this is not the correct forum for my question. For the past two months, my girlfriend's parents, whom she was living with have been recording our phone calls without our knowledge. They then disclosed the conversations to my girlfriend's abusive ex-husband who she has two children with. From what I understand of the law concerning taping phone conversations in Texas, they have committed a crime for which there may be both civil and criminal reprecussions. Do we have grounds to file civil and criminal charges, and how do we go about doing this, finding the right lawyer, and obtaining the evidence before they delete everything? They have already caused a lot of irreversible damage, and I feel very violated by this. Thanks for any help or advice.

IIn all 50 states and through federal law, it's considered illegal to record telephone conversations outside of one party consent. There are a couple of exceptions. In the state of California, one party consent can be applied only under circumstances in which one party is involved in criminal activity which would include extortion or blackmail. In the state of Arizona, the subscriber to a telephone service can record telephone conversations with no party consent when criminal activity is involved. Other than those two known exceptions, all other recordings outside of those states that permit one party consent are a violation of state and federal law.

The question is often asked if one can record the telephone conversations of a spouse in a domestic case or the conversations of children concerning drug usage. In both of these cases, the answer is it's unlawful. Many people will complain that they own the telephone and pay the telephone bill so they should therefore have a right to record what they want. However, the law doesn't address who owns the phone nor who pays the phone bill. It only addresses the use of one party and all party consent. Anything outside of that is a violation of state law and federal wiretapping law.

The Federal Communications Commission goes further into details on recording telephone conversations and states that the party recording must give verbal notification before the recording and that there must be a beep tone on the line to indicate that the line is being recorded.

What damages have they caused?

[A. R. Brown]

Thank you for the replies.

@ERAUPIKE

As far as damages caused, her ex-husband and her have been involved in court proceedings for some time for a ridiculous assault charge filed against her. He has committed violence against her several times, for which he had been charged and convicted of three times. The last time this occurred, she bit him to get away and was charged with assault herself. He was in the process of dropping the charge against her, and after hearing our conversations, he has decided not to. He has had two phone conversations with her since he heard the calls, and he has caused her more mental stress by insulting her and threatening to keep her from seeing her children again. She is already afraid of him and the situation was delicate enough; now it is extremely volatile. I have not been damaged much by this, except for the fact that I am embarassed that people are listening to my private conversations. It is a very uncomfortable feeling. Thanks again for the help.

[ERAUPIKE]

Originally Posted by A. R. Brown

Thank you for the replies.

@ERAUPIKE

As far as damages caused, her ex-husband and her have been involved in court proceedings for some time for a ridiculous assault charge filed against her. He has committed violence against her several times, for which he had been charged and convicted of three times. The last time this occurred, she bit him to get away and was charged with assault herself. He was in the process of dropping the charge against her, and after hearing our conversations, he has decided not to. He has had two phone conversations with her since he heard the calls, and he has caused her more mental stress by insulting her and threatening to keep her from seeing her children again. She is already afraid of him and the situation was delicate enough; now it is extremely volatile. I have not been damaged much by this, except for the fact that I am embarassed that people are listening to my private conversations. It is a very uncomfortable feeling. Thanks again for the help.

In my opinion there are no damages due to the phone calls being recorded.

[Blue Meanie]

Originally Posted by A. R. Brown

Thank you for the replies.

@ERAUPIKE

As far as damages caused, her ex-husband and her have been involved in court proceedings for some time for a ridiculous assault charge filed against her. He has committed violence against her several times, for which he had been charged and convicted of three times. The last time this occurred, she bit him to get away and was charged with assault herself. He was in the process of dropping the charge against her, and after hearing our conversations, he has decided not to. He has had two phone conversations with her since he heard the calls, and he has caused her more mental stress by insulting her and threatening to keep her from seeing her children again. She is already afraid of him and the situation was delicate enough; now it is extremely volatile. I have not been damaged much by this, except for the fact that I am embarassed that people are listening to my private conversations. It is a very uncomfortable feeling. Thanks again for the help.

Humm..Sounds familiar. Did she post here?

[A. R. Brown]

@ ERAUPIKE

The damages didn't occur from the calls being recorded, they occurred from them being disclosed to another person. Or are you saying these aren't significant damages?

@ Blue Meanie

No, she didn't post here.

[ERAUPIKE]

Originally Posted by A. R. Brown

@ ERAUPIKE

The damages didn't occur from the calls being recorded, they occurred from them being disclosed to another person. Or are you saying these aren't significant damages?

@ Blue Meanie

No, she didn't post here.

Nope, the history of violence will make it difficult to convince anyone the recorded phone calls were in fact the cause of this sudden change in attitude. The actions of the ex are common place in failed marriages and custody battles. You have ever right to press Federal charges against your in-laws but a civil case will prove fruitless.