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Comment by ajays | Hacker News Reader

The article mentions 2 apps, but I'm sure these are not the only ones. It would be nice to know about others too.

One note of caution, though: some states are 2-party consent states, which means, both parties have to consent to an audio recording. If you happen to be in one of those states, and the cops find out that you've been recording them, you can be in deep trouble.

On the other hand, sometimes just recording the cops in plain sight can get you into trouble, as evidenced by Emily Good's arrest in Rochester, NY. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110625/NEWS01/...

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Does that apply to activity recorded in a public area?

I'm not a lawyer, but: the cops can still hassle you even if you know you're in the right.

Consider this case: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-05-08/news/bs-md-herma... Eventually a judge ruled for him, but imagine the heartburn over the prospect of going to jail for 15 years. Some cops do not like being video-taped even in public. Some will even pull a gun on you to intimidate you: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/02/v-fullstory/2248396/wi...

Just depends. The cops will still screw with you, hence, "You can beat the rap but you can't be the ride."

I read a case that if you look like you're recording everything in general, the people being recorded give permission to be recorded in public space.

I think it was aimed at protecting journalists though.

"some states are 2-party consent states, which means, both parties have to consent to an audio recording."

IANAL, but I believe that there is no state where this applies to public recording. The issue is "expectation of privacy". http://www.rcfp.org/taping/consent.html

In the rochester case, the public servant informed Ms Good that they did not feel safe, and then used the "refusal to obey a police instruction" as the crime. However, citizens are only required to obey lawful instructions. I do not believe that the instruction was lawful.

Until our public servants in law enforcement are educated on the matter of law, a citizen will be taking a risk in exercising their rights. I believe that it is our duty to do so.

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