Court Opinion

ID: 9884525
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-06 03:00:31.829393+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:48:39.155925
License: Public Domain

Mr. Justice Underwood, also concurring in the result: I agree with the majority that a new trial is necessitated by the substantial possibility of prejudice manifested in the jury selection proceedings and retention of the “claustrophobic” juror in the circumstances of this case; I disagree as to the construction of the eavesdropping statute. While resolution of the problem in this case rests upon statutory construction, it is noteworthy in a determination of legislative intent that the great weight of authority in other jurisdictions is that tape recording or wireless broadcast of conversations violates no constitutional rights where accomplished in the manner here present and one of the parties to the conversation has consented to the recording. (See Anno. 97 A.L.R. 2d 1285, 1304.) Much has been written and said of the merits, or lack of them, of eavesdropping practices, but they are substantial and highly effective law enforcement tools when constitutionally used. (See Lopez v. United States, 373 U.S. 427, 10 L. Ed. 2d 462, where an electronic eavesdropping device was described by- the Supreme Court as a means “to obtain the most reliable evidence possible of a conversation.”) See, also, The Wiretapping-Eavesdropping Problem, Reflections on The Eavesdroppers, 44 Minn. Law Review, 813, 866, where a prominent defense attorney says: “Such practices (concealing microphones to record conversations where no party consents) must be distinguished from situations where a conversation is recorded or transmitted with the consent of one participant. Law enforcement officers, for example may wear a concealed recording device when interviewing suspects or witnesses. Informers may agree to have a microphone concealed in their clothing when they engage the suspect in an incriminating conversation, so that police officers can overhear the conversation and testify about it in court. “Such conduct may be unethical. Many people whose views I respect also think it is unconstitutional. Their reasoning, however, has never completely persuaded me on this point. Every time we engage in a conversation we run the risk that the other party may betray us. He may reveal what we have said to our personal enemies, our business competitors, or the police. He may try to blackmail us. Such risks are inherent in human relationships. They are in essence no different from the risk that the person in whom we confide has arranged to record or broadcast what we say by means of some concealed device. The only real distinction is that a simultaneous record or broadcast is more complete and exact than any subsequent report. This is a distinction in degree but not in essence.” Our statutory provisions are contained in the Illinois Eavesdropping Act. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1965, chap. 38, art 14). Section 14 — 5 thereof prohibits use of any evidence obtained in violation of the act, and the question is whether recording of conversations with the consent of one of the parties to the conversations constitutes a violation of the act thus rendering the recording inadmissible in evidence against the nonconsenting participants. The answer is dependent upon the construction of section 14 — 2: “A person commits eavesdropping when he: (a) Uses an eavesdropping device to hear or record all or any part of any oral conversation without the consent of any party thereto; * * *”. I believe no violation of this statute occurs and that recordings of conversations are admissible in evidence against all parties where any one of the parties thereto has consented to such recording. I think this is apparent from the statute itself, and I thought this interpretation clearly indicated by our language in People v. Dixon, 22 Ill.2d 513, 516, a view shared by the Federal bench in Illinois. United States v. Pullings, (7th cir.) 321 F.2d 287; Magee v. Williams, (7th cir.) 329 F.2d 463, 470. The controlling sentence in the act (section 14 — 2(a)) provides that a person commits eavesdropping when he “uses an eavesdropping device to hear or record all or any part of any oral conversation without the consent of any party thereto.” (Emphasis added). Had the intention of the legislature been as the majority infer, it seems the logical choice of the drafter would have been “without the consent of all parties thereto.” This conclusion is strengthened by the fact that both “all” and “any” were used in the preceding portion of the quoted sentence, and I believe the drafting choice must be viewed as deliberately and intentionally made. So viewed, “without the consent of any party”, to me, leads only to one conclusion, and that is that recorded conversations are admissible against all parties thereto if consented to by any party. While the majority, in reaching the contrary conclusion, refer to 1959 Committee Comments, our language in Dixon was written in 1961, and, presumably, after consideration of the same comments now referred to as supporting a contrary conclusion. Additionally, I believe the majority misconstrue the Committee Comments, since the “complete prohibition against eavesdropping” referred to by the Committee as retained in Illinois is the absolute bar to ex pan'te eavesdropping, i.e., recording thereof by one not a party to the conversation. This is permissible in New York under court supervision, but not in Illinois, and it was the intent to retain this prohibition to which the Committee, in my judgment referred. In fact, the whole intent of the statute is to do precisely this: make ex parte eavesdropping a criminal offense and preclude use of its fruits. The defendants argue that action by the 1963 legislature in adopting an amendment to section 14 — 2(a) in which the word “all” was substituted for the word “any” indicates our construction in Dixon was not in accord with the original intent of the legislature. This amendatory legislation was vetoed by the Governor, and, whether our construction in Dixon accorded with legislative intent in 1963 or not, it is apparent that the Governor considered Dixon as an accurate interpretation, and we have heretofore held that gubernatorial action is an integral part of the legislative process. Williams v. Kerner, 30 Ill.2d 11, 14. While the majority opinion states that the construction therein adopted (that any party who has not consented to the recording or transmission of his conversation may bar its admission in evidence against him) lies between the opposing contentions of the State (admissible against all parties if any consent) and the defendants ( admissible only if all consent), I see no practical difference between excluding the recorded conversations as to the nonconsenting parties and excluding them entirely. It is apparent that no party who has consented to the conversation will incriminate himself therein; to permit use against such party accomplishes nothing, whereas exclusion of the recording as to the nonconsenting parties emasculates its use for law enforcement purposes and is, in practical effect, the complete prohibition sought by defendants. In operation, the construction accomplishes the precise result which the majority seek to avoid — construing “any” to mean “all”. I feel, also, some responsibility to call attention to the possibility of a future problem if the majority construction stands. In the example set forth in the final page of that opinion three of four parties to a conversation have consented to recording thereof. Has the offense of eavesdropping been committed? I am uncertain, for the majority say the recording is admissible as to the consenting parties although section 14 — 5 prohibits use of any evidence obtained in violation of the article. Seemingly, this prohibition is absolute, since no differentiation appears as between consenting and nonconsenting parties. Stated conversely, if the recording is inadmissible as to the nonconsenter, because the statute has been violated, how, in the absence of any distinction in the governing statute, does it become admissible as to the consenting ones? Only, it seems to me, by judicial fiat devoid of statutory basis. In short, I believe our duty is to interpret the statute as it is written — not as we would have written it. I think the construction given this statute in Dixon correct, and that consent to recording thereof by any party to a conversation renders the recording admissible against all.