Can You be Criminally Charged With Recording a Conversation With a Minor
My question involves criminal law for the state of: Wisconsin
A little background info on why a conversation with a minor was recorded: The mother of the child and the child are going through a rough patch due to upcoming family court on custody modification. One day, the child was angry with his mother for enforcing him being grounded, so he scratched and struck himself to create visible wounds, and contacted his father who called the police to investigate abuse. The police just asked questions and left the child in the custody of the mother and left. The child stated to the police he was punched, choked and scratched unprovoked. My role is that I'm a non-relative, friend of the mother, and so I chatted with the child. I recorded the audio of this conversation, where the child admitted he faked his injuries to get revenge on his mother for grounding him.
I am aware WI is a one-party consent state for recording, but the question I have is whether or not "expectation of privacy" comes into play, since the recording was done in the living room of the boy's home, and I am not a resident there. The mother was party to the conversation. Firstly, is the recording a crime? And secondly, if it isn't, would it be admissible as evidence against the incident detailed above in family court, or in general to show the behavior of the child or defend against claims of abuse?
Re: Is Voice Recording a Conversation with a Minor in the Home a Crime/Evidence
And when Dad claims that you and Mom "coached" (or worse, threatened) the child into saying what's on the tape ... then what?
Please don't involve yourself in someone else's custody matters. It's not your place and your presence can only cause strife.
Also, the court would NOT look kindly on Mom for doing this. Not. At. All.
Re: Is Voice Recording a Conversation with a Minor in the Home a Crime/Evidence
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Aquarius9217
My question involves criminal law for the state of: Wisconsin
A little background info on why a conversation with a minor was recorded: The mother of the child and the child are going through a rough patch due to upcoming family court on custody modification. One day, the child was angry with his mother for enforcing him being grounded, so he scratched and struck himself to create visible wounds, and contacted his father who called the police to investigate abuse. The police just asked questions and left the child in the custody of the mother and left. The child stated to the police he was punched, choked and scratched unprovoked. My role is that I'm a non-relative, friend of the mother, and so I chatted with the child. I recorded the audio of this conversation, where the child admitted he faked his injuries to get revenge on his mother for grounding him.
I am aware WI is a one-party consent state for recording, but the question I have is whether or not "expectation of privacy" comes into play, since the recording was done in the living room of the boy's home, and I am not a resident there. The mother was party to the conversation. Firstly, is the recording a crime? And secondly, if it isn't, would it be admissible as evidence against the incident detailed above in family court, or in general to show the behavior of the child or defend against claims of abuse?
Not your circus, not your monkeys.
Re: Is Voice Recording a Conversation with a Minor in the Home a Crime/Evidence
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Dogmatique
And when Dad claims that you and Mom "coached" (or worse, threatened) the child into saying what's on the tape ... then what?
Please don't involve yourself in someone else's custody matters. It's not your place and your presence can only cause strife.
Also, the court would NOT look kindly on Mom for doing this. Not. At. All.
It was a lengthy conversation about many unrelated topics and not a brief interrogation. I find it difficult to believe that anyone who listened to the entire conversation would believe that it was set up or under threat. Both of your advice is well taken, though, about staying out of it.
Re: Is Voice Recording a Conversation with a Minor in the Home a Crime/Evidence
wait...did the mom know you were recording too? Setup can be a lengthy conversation about all sorts of other things just that the child was told when asked about this specific thing to state what mom wanted him to say. I agree with the others that you need to stay out of it
Re: Is Voice Recording a Conversation with a Minor in the Home a Crime/Evidence
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Aquarius9217
I am aware WI is a one-party consent state for recording, but the question I have is whether or not "expectation of privacy" comes into play, since the recording was done in the living room of the boy's home, and I am not a resident there. The mother was party to the conversation. Firstly, is the recording a crime?
If there is no expectation of privacy then you don’t need the consent of any of the persons being recorded under either federal or Wisconsin. If there is an expectation of privacy, and there would be in the situation you described, it is illegal to record unless you yourself are a party to that conversation or you have the consent of a party to the conversation. As you were a party to the conversation, the recording appears to have not violated either federal or WI laws.
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Aquarius9217
And secondly, if it isn't, would it be admissible as evidence against the incident detailed above in family court, or in general to show the behavior of the child or defend against claims of abuse?
Assuming the recording was made lawfully, whether the recording is admissible will depend on the purpose for which the recording is offered, what relevance it has to any issue(s) in the matter before the court, and the extent to which the recording is authenticated. Since you made the recording, you would likely have to testify to lay the foundation for that. That drags you squarely into this conflict, something that you may find uncomfortable. The admissibility issue is something the mother would want to discuss with her lawyer.
Re: Is Voice Recording a Conversation with a Minor in the Home a Crime/Evidence
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hr for me
wait...did the mom know you were recording too? Setup can be a lengthy conversation about all sorts of other things just that the child was told when asked about this specific thing to state what mom wanted him to say. I agree with the others that you need to stay out of it
Yes, she knew it was being recorded. It was her idea. There was no coaching or setup, she just wanted me there because she thought that him openly admitting it to a third party made the recording better. The child openly admits to her he lied to her and the father, for the purposes of getting the dad to call the cops on her for suspected abuse. I have no idea if he admitted such to the father, who (hopefully) would be angered by being used in such a way. What I meant was based on the tone of the conversation, I find it hard to believe that anyone listening to it would entertain the notion that it was a setup, but I suppose if the kid alleged it was a setup and there was no proof either way, it would just drag me into the mess for no reason. I was already starting to feel uncomfortable with the position I was placed in, and have already talked to the mom and said she should mention this to the kid's counselor, so it can be addressed at the kid's next appointment and then a professional could attest to the deception, should the kid admit to it there. I'm going ahead and staying out of it, and discarding the recording.
Re: Is Voice Recording a Conversation with a Minor in the Home a Crime/Evidence
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Aquarius9217
Y
I'm going ahead and staying out of it, and discarding the recording.
Stay out of it as best you can but I suggest you retain the recording just in case.
These types of abuse allegation could get a child removed from the mother's custody.
As uncomfortable as it gets you are already in it and it would be tragic for your friend to have her child taken away for nothing.