The California Supreme Court granted review to determine the meaning of “confidential communication” as used in Penal Code section 632, subdivision (a), which prohibits the recording of telephone calls without consent of the parties, where the call includes a confidential communication. Here, the Court held that a conversation is confidential if a party to that conversation has an objectively reasonable expectation that the conversation is not being overheard or recorded. It specifically rejected the other line of authority, which held that a conversation is confidential only where the party has an objectively reasonable expectation that the content will not be divulged to third parties.
Case Summaries