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Admissibility of Tape Recorded Evidence Produced by Private Individuals Under Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1968

NCJ Number
118230
Journal
Washington and Lee Law Review Volume: 45 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1988) Pages: 231-248
Author(s)
V J X Hedrick
Date Published
1988
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Courts can support Congress's goal of combatting organized crime and can avoid invading people's privacy if they admit as evidence tape recordings that were made against an individual who records a conversation for a criminal purpose.
Abstract
This approach would reflect Congress's intended meaning of the criminal purpose exception in Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. The criminal purpose exception does not apply to tape recordings used as evidence against persons who have recorded conversations for a criminal purpose, but it does apply to tape-recorded evidence used against non-consenting parties. The appellate court decision in United States v. Vest provides guidance to courts in that it addresses the problem of determining criminal purpose when an individual made tape recordings for many purposes. The Vest court focused on the primary motivation and analyzed all the factors making up the motivation for recording. Courts should also carefully analyze the legislative history of the criminal purpose exception to be sure that they are applying the exception properly. 126 footnotes.