Florida law makes it illegal to record a conversation without notifying everyone involved.
In December, this law led the state Supreme Court to overturn the conviction of Richard McDade, who had been found guilty in Lee County of sexual battery of a child younger than 12, among other things.
The appeals court had said that the most compelling evidence was a recording the alleged victim, his stepdaughter, had made without his knowing.
A bill passed by the Florida House on Wednesday seeks to change things.
The measure (H.B. 7001) by Reps. Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, and Jared Moskowitz, D-Coral Springs, would grant an exception for cases just like McDade’s.
It would allow a person to record without notifying someone who “is committing, or has committed an unlawful sexual act or an unlawful act of physical force or violence against the person.”
The bill passed the House by a vote of 115-1, with only Rep. Joseph Geller, D-Aventura, dissenting because, he said, the bill is overly broad.
A Senate companion (S.B. 542) has passed its first committee but has not yet been put on the calendar by Judiciary Committee chair Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami.
Original article here.