Possible Phone Conversations Being Recorded

[J.B.]

Hello Again,
            I live in the state of Texas. I am divorced , my ex and I have joint custody but the children live with him. He is taking me back to court to have my 4 days a month reduced because he says that extracurricular activities are more important right now then spending time with their mom. I was told by one of my children that my ex husband is recording my conversations anytime my ex and I speak on the phone.
Heres my questions for you:

1. Is it legal for him to record our conversations without letting me know he is doing so?

2. If he is recording me without me knowing, will it be allowed to be used in court?

3. If it is illegal to do so and he trys to use them and the judge tells him he cant use it, is there anything I can do legally about him recording me for the intent to use it against me?

Your time and advice is greatly appreciated Sir!!!!!

                                 Thanks n Have a great night,
                                                              J.B.  in Texas

[socrateaser]

>1. Is it legal for him to record our conversations without
>letting me know he is doing so?

No. A "party" to a telephone call in TX can record without consent of the other party, but if the father is not the person privy to the conversation, then it's unlawful for him to record it.

There may be some case law in TX which would allow a parent to record a child, but I doubt it, based on the way the statute is written.

>
>2. If he is recording me without me knowing, will it be
>allowed to be used in court?

This is insteresting -- just because evidence is criminally obtained, doesn't automatically exclude it from use in a civil action. Only if the government violates a person's reasonable expectation of privacy, is the evidence of that violation inadmissible against them in a criminal action.

But, in a family law action between two parents, the recording could still come in, even over a hearsay objection, because the evidence is likely sufficiently trustworthy to fall within the TX catch-all exception to the hearsay rule.

 Of course, it would be a public record of the admission of a felony by the parent offering the recording, and it would allow you a civil action for $10,000 in statutory penalties. But, hey, who's counting money or jail time, when the kid's interests are involved, right? LOL!

He'd be positively moronic to try to offer the recordings into evidence, unless he has more money than God and doesn't care about jail time.

>3. If it is illegal to do so and he trys to use them and the
>judge tells him he cant use it, is there anything I can do
>legally about him recording me for the intent to use it
>against me?

You take a transcript of the court record to the district attorney and file a report of a crime, and also hire a lawyer to sue him civilly.

See Texas Penal Code Section 16.02.

Note: if the child is on a speakerphone, then that means you have no reasonable expectation of privacy, and the recording will avoid the criminal statute and come into evidence. So, if that's how this is all going down, then you've shot yourself in the foot, but allowing yourself to be recorded via a speakerphone.