Legal Question in Juvenile Dependency in Michigan

can you record a telephone conversation with out consent from both parties


Asked on 7/06/13, 8:10 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Neil O'Brien Eaton County Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney

Michigan is a "one-party" state, meaning that one participant in a conversation (whether on the phone or otherwise) has to know of and approve of it being recorded. ALL participants do not. Other states do require all participants to know of and approve of the recording, but in our state only one party does. If you have, for example, a home phone set up to record all conversations regardless of who is involved (maybe you want to see what your spouse or kids are saying in their private calls), then this is likely illegal "wire tapping" in our state. You may feel that, as a spouse or parent, you have a "good reason" for doing this, you are still putting yourself at risk of a criminal investigation for violating the electronic monitoring statute. You would be wise, before you do anything like this, to meet personally with an attorney in private practice to review all of your facts so this lawyer can review the laws and then give you legal counsel on how to conduct your private affairs. That's part of what private practice attorneys are trained to do: give legal counsel / advice.

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Answered on 7/08/13, 8:21 am


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