Motorcyclist wins "wiretapping" case.

[Amanda]

Not sure if the post about this was on the older board or this one, but I remember seeing a discussion about this guy. He had a video camera attached to his helmet and recorded him riding and being pulled over by a state trooper with his gun drawn.


http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/cr ... _case.html

A Harford County Circuit Court judge ruled this afternoon that a motorcyclist who was arrested for videotaping his traffic stop by a Maryland State Trooper was within his rights to record the confrontation.

Judge Emory A Plitt Jr. tossed all the charges filed against Anthony Graber, leaving only speeding and other traffic violations, and most likely sparing him a trial that had been scheduled for Oct. 12. The judge ruled that Maryland's wire tap law allows recording of both voice and sound in areas where privacy cannot be expected. He ruled that a police officer on a traffic stop has no expectation of privacy.


"Those of us who are public officials and are entrusted with the power of the state are ultimately accountable to the public," the judge wrote. "When we exercise that power in public fora, we should not expect our actions to be shielded from public observation."

 

[w8jkc]

I think this falls under the "you have a dash cam to cover your ass, I have a helmet cam to cover mine" category.

 

[Doug]

Actually, as I understand it, the charges were dropped. Either way, personally, I'm quite glad that it worked out this way. I think a lot of it boils down to a reasonable expectation of privacy, and I, myself, don't expect a lot of privacy when I'm out in public.


Bottom line, don't do anything you shouldn't (either legally or morally) and you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

 

[JohnMarcson]

In public=no expectation of privacy. I agree. You might as well just assume that everything you do in public is on video....

 

[Doug]

In public=no expectation of privacy. I agree. You might as well just assume that everything you do in public is on video....

Let your moral compass guide you and you'll be just fine.