COPS
I just had to reprint this from Eric (IsThatLegal)
“A cop was investigating a guy who appeared to be impersonating a police officer:
“Devenpeck noticed a tape recorder on the passenger seat of respondent’s car, with the play and record buttons depressed. . . He ordered Haner to remove respondent from the car, played the recorded tape, and found that respondent had been recording his conversations with the officers. Devenpeck informed respondent that he was under arrest for a violation of the Washington Privacy Act, Wash. Rev. Code §9.73.030 (1994). Respondent protested that a state court-of-appeals decision, a copy of which he claimed was in his glove compartment, permitted him to record roadside conversations with police officers. Devenpeck returned to his car, reviewed the language of the Privacy Act, and attempted unsuccessfully to reach a prosecutor to confirm that the arrest was lawful. Believing that the text of the Privacy Act confirmed that respondent’s recording was unlawful, he directed Officer Haner to take respondent to jail.
“A cop parses statutory language in the squad car, while the suspect cites appellate precedent he’s got stashed in the glove compartment.
“You don’t see that on COPS too often.”