Re: Arrested for "Running Over Abusive Ex", DA is Stalling

More | Report Post

Welcome to Texas (in)justice!

I can't say for sure what's going on with the lawyers.

However, the phone recordings may or may not be admissible.
It is legal to record telephone calls in the State of Texas.
Only one party's permission is needed. Double-check the
statutes on that issue. Also be sure to check out Federal
(FCC) regulations on phone recording. The federal law makes
it unlawful to record telephone conversations except in one
party consent cases which permit one party consent recording
by state law. Texas is a "one-party" state. What that means
is a person can record their own telephone conversations
without the knowledge or consent of the other party in those
states that allow one party consent, such as Texas.

Now, there are specific rules covering recording by
attorneys. In general, your attorney may not do the
recording, nor can s/he ACTIVELY encourage you to record
calls. S/he CAN tell you what's legal and what's not.

Meanwhile, here is a website that describes the laws in
Texas: http://www.rcfp.org/taping/ Click on State-by-State
guise, then on Texas. For notes on "consent", go to the
same site, and click on "Consent and its Limits". Be sure
to discuss this info with your lawyer. Different rules
apply in the case of interstate calls, so if your ex has
since moved out of state, you may need to follow different
rules.

Here's another website with more links to Federal laws on
recording: http://www.pimall.com/nais/n.recordlaw.html

Hope that helps.

MAM