Recording Telephone Conversations

Citizens often have questions about the legality of recording telephone conversations between themselves and police officers or other members of law enforcement. It’s natural to want to create a record for yourself. However, Florida does have a strict prohibition under its wiretapping law (Fl. Stat. § 934.03) against recording telephone conversations when the other party is not aware of the recording. There are exceptions for calls for business purposes or when other parties are present for the phone call. Additionally, telephone conversations with law enforcement are not subject to the wiretapping law, according to a new case that came out of the 3rd District Court of Appeals in April, 2024.  

In Waite v. State, 49 Fla. L. Weekly D820 (Fla. 5th DCA April 12, 2024), the 5th District Court of Appeals ruled that recording telephone calls with deputy sheriffs acting in their official capacity as law enforcement officers does not violate any reasonable expectation of privacy on behalf of law enforcement. The Court reasoned that law enforcement has no reasonable expectation of privacy when speaking on a state issued phone in their official capacity as law enforcement conducting public business. In Waite, the defendant had been charged with felony offenses for violating the wiretapping law by recording calls with law enforcement and then emailing the audio recordings to the sheriff’s office to report purported officer misconduct. The 5th District reversed the trial court’s conviction and granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss.  

However, the charge for battery on a law enforcement officer was upheld against the defendant for the battery he committed while law enforcement was arresting him for the alleged wiretapping crime. So, if you are recording calls with law enforcement, please make sure not to fight them if they try to arrest you for it. Take the ride, then give us a call. We will make sure the criminal issue gets corrected. 

By Attorney Brent Lightfoot

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