New York's top court: Parents can legally eavesdrop on kids
Legal Events
New York's highest court says parents can legally eavesdrop on young children, establishing an exception to state law against wiretaps without the consent of at least one person on a call.
The Court of Appeals split 4-3 in deciding such monitoring is justified when a parent or guardian reasonably believes it would be in the child's best interests to listen to and tape phone conversations.
Tuesday's ruling is in a case involving a cellphone recording of Anthony Badalamenti threatening to beat a 5-year-old boy. The boy's biological father made the recording.
Badalamenti lived with the boy's mother. He was convicted of child endangerment, assault and weapon possession.
His attorney challenged the tape as inadmissible evidence.
The ruling upheld a decision by a mid-level appeals court.
Related listings
-
Supreme Court rejects Blagojevich appeal in corruption case
Legal Events 03/27/2016The Supreme Court on Monday rejected former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's appeal of his corruption convictions that included his attempt to sell the vacant Senate seat once occupied by President Barack Obama. The justices let stand an appeal...
-
Court gives green light to death penalty fast-tracking
Legal Events 03/24/2016A federal appeals court Wednesday cleared the way for the Department of Justice to allow states to have their inmates' death penalty appeals expedited through federal court. Legal organizations that challenged the DOJ's criteria for certifying...
-
Judge begins to deliver verdict in Ukrainian pilot trial
Legal Events 03/22/2016A Russian court has begun reading a verdict for Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, who is charged with complicity to murder two Russian journalists in war-torn eastern Ukraine. The judge began reading the verdict Monday morning. He quoted arg...
Is Now the Time to Really Call a Special Education Lawyer?
IDEA, FAPE, CHILD FIND and IEPs: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees all children with disabilities to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). FAPE starts with a school’s responsibility to identify that a child has a disability (Child Find) and create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) to suit the needs of the child. Parents need to be persistent, dedicated and above all else aware of the many services and accommodations that their child is entitled to under the law. As early as this point within your child’s special education, many parents will often find themselves in the situation asking, “is now the time to really call a special education lawyer.” Here are a few things to consider when asking yourself that question.