Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Recording by a private person without the consent of the other[s] in the conversation is generally a crime your could be charged with, and generally not admissible as evidence. The only real exception to the rule is if you are documenting the planning or discussion of a crime by the other person[s] in order to report it to the police.

In California, for the tape to be admitted into evidence or even presented the person must be told it is being made. If you call and leave a message on an answering machine you have given your consent. It is a crime to make such a recording.

I generally agree with Mr. Nelson and Mr. Shers, but there are exceptions to the rule they have stated. In particular, the rule only applies to conversations which the participants reasonably expect to be private. Many conversations do not fit this description. I would need to know more about the particular conversation and how it was recorded before I could offer an opinion