IP: SJC upholds conviction of man who secretly taped police

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 14:14:38 -0700
> To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
> From: Ron Avitzur <avitzur () PacificT com>
> Subject: SJC upholds conviction of man who secretly taped police
>
> <http://www.boston.com/news/daily/13/police_recording.htm>
>
> By Denise Lavoie, Associated Press, 07/13/01
>
> BOSTON -- The state's highest court on Friday upheld the conviction of a 
> man who secretly recorded police after they pulled him over.
>
>
> The Supreme Judicial Court in a split decision ruled that Michael Hyde 
> violated the state's electronic surveillance law, which prohibits secret 
> recordings.
>
> But in a strongly worded dissent, two justices said the wiretapping 
> statute was not meant to prevent citizens from recording an encounter with 
> police.
>
> Hyde, a rock musician, said he recorded Abington police because he thought 
> they unfairly targeted him for a traffic stop on Oct. 26, 1998, because of 
> his long hair, leather jacket and his sports car.
>
> Hyde recorded officers using an obscenity, asking him if he had any 
> cocaine in his car, and threatening to send him to jail.
>
> Several days later, he brought the tape to police headquarters to try to 
> prove he was harassed. Instead, police charged Hyde with unlawful wiretapping.
>
> A jury took less than an hour to convict Hyde of breaking the electronic 
> surveillance law. He was sentenced to six months of probation.
>
> ...
>
> David Yas, publisher of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, said the wiretapping 
> law was established to protect citizens against government oppression.
>
> "The preamble to the law said electronic devices are a danger to the 
> privacy of all citizens. This case turns that notion on its head because 
> here we had an individual trying to protect himself from a misdeed on the 
> part of public officials and he's the one who ends up being arrested for 
> it and prosecuted," Yas said.



For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/