Washington State Parents Must Redefine Duties
State's privacy laws apply to children, too
Parents take note:
I'm nearly speechless. Given that children do not have constitutional rights under the federal scheme--e.g. Miranda Act does not apply--I .... I ....
I wonder if I'll be exempt from lawsuits based on my daughter's conduct if I can't survey her doings? One must wonder what the implications will be for online internet predators. Maybe Washington jailbait will be easier to get now.
Personally, I think the DA should turn around and charge the girl with aiding and abetting by concealing knowledge related to a crime.
In the meantime, let's hear a cheer for states' rights, eh?
Notes:
State's privacy laws apply to children, too
Parents take note:
In a case of snooping parents vs. their children, a mother's eavesdropping on a telephone conversation between the woman's daughter and her daughter's boyfriend violated the children's privacy, the state Supreme Court ruled yesterday.
The high court unanimously reversed a 2000 robbery conviction against Oliver Christensen, 22, of Friday Harbor, in a case based in part on the testimony of the mother and what she heard in that telephone conversation.
"The court said it is against the law to intercept or snoop on anybody's private conversation and that even a child has privacy rights," said Christensen's attorney, Michael Tario. "And further, the law says it is a crime for someone to do that, and that whatever is heard cannot be mentioned in court" ....
.... Attorneys for the state argued that minors should have a reduced expectation of privacy because parents have an absolute right to monitor phone calls coming into the family home. The attorneys cited provisions in federal wiretap law which are less restrictive than Washington's law and allow parents to tape and listen to their children's conversations.
"The Washington act, with its all-party consent requirement, contains no such parental exception and no Washington court has ever implied such an exception. We decline to do so now," wrote Justice Tom Chambers in the court's opinion.
Seattle Times
I'm nearly speechless. Given that children do not have constitutional rights under the federal scheme--e.g. Miranda Act does not apply--I .... I ....
I wonder if I'll be exempt from lawsuits based on my daughter's conduct if I can't survey her doings? One must wonder what the implications will be for online internet predators. Maybe Washington jailbait will be easier to get now.
Personally, I think the DA should turn around and charge the girl with aiding and abetting by concealing knowledge related to a crime.
In the meantime, let's hear a cheer for states' rights, eh?
________________________Douglas Klunder, who filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the opinion reinforces the state's reputation as a strong guardian of personal privacy.
Klunder said the primary issue before the high court was whether the use of an extension or speaker phone was considered eavesdropping. A secondary issue was whether there was an exception in the case of parents and their children.
Attorneys for the state argued that minors should have a reduced expectation of privacy because parents have an absolute right to monitor phone calls coming into the family home. The attorneys cited provisions in federal wiretap law which are less restrictive than Washington's law and allow parents to tape and listen to their children's conversations.
Seattle Times
Notes:
Clarridge, Christine. "Eavesdropping against law even for parent, court says". SeattleTimes.com, December 10, 2004. See http://archives.seattletimes.nwsour...ortex/display?slug=eavesdrop10m&date=20041210
See Also -Dunnewind, Stephanie. "Parents assert right to listen in on kids". SeattleTimes.com, December 14, 2004. See http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002118807_privacyfolo14.html
Brodeur, Nicole. "Parents have right to snoop". SeattleTimes.com, December 14, 2004. See http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002118759_brodeur14m.html
Brodeur, Nicole. "Parents have right to snoop". SeattleTimes.com, December 14, 2004. See http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002118759_brodeur14m.html