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05/02: Unauthorized Recordings - Eavesdropping - Michigan
Perhaps you have wanted to record a phone conversation or video taped someone in your house, and wondered whether this is permitted by law. Alternatively, perhaps you have been the subject of an unauthorized video or telephone recording, and want to know your rights.Both the federal law and Michigan law apply. The federal law is codified at 18 USC 2510, et seq, while Michigan law is codified at MCL 750.539c et seq. The federal law provides for a 5 year felony for recording telephone conversations except in cases in which the state allows only one person to the conversation to consent.
MCL 750.539c provides for a 2 year felony / $2,000.00 fine for wilfully recording a conversation without each party's consent. Under 750.539d, it is also a crime to video record or photograph a person in a "private place", without the person's consent. A private place is one in which the individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy and as such, a place to which the public also has access is not a private place. Accordingly, dissemination of prohibited recordings is also a violation of law with a 5 year felony / $5,000.00 as punishment.
There are exceptions to the law for residences monitored for security purposes unless the monitoring is conducted for a lewd or lascivious purpose and this would come with a 2 year felony / $2,000.00 fine which is aggravated for previous convictions. Police officers on duty, common carriers, public utilities, and state correctional facilities are also excepted under the law.
If you have been recorded and want to pursue the matter in court, the civil remedy is codified at 750.539h. You may request an injunction by a court of record prohibiting further eavesdropping, actual damages against the person who eavesdrops, and punitive damages as determined by the court or by a jury.
For a more detailed analysis, consider:
Dickerson v. Raphael, 564 NW2d 85 (Mich App 1997)
Sullivan v Gray, 324 NW2d 58 (Mich App 1982)
www.feibleman-law.com/documents/2004_wiretapping_updated.pdf