Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: Tapeing a phone call and using it in court?

If you and your daughter's mother were on the phone together, it is not illegal for your daughter's grandmother to listen in on an extension without you knowing she was there ... as long as your daughter's mother knew she was listening in.

Likewise, it would not be illegal for your daughter's mother to record the conversation that the two of you had, even if you did not know she was recording it. Anyone can record their own conversations with other people, even if the other person(s) don't know it's happening.

The real issue is "who recorded the phone call?': your daughter's mother (with whom you were speaking) or your daughter's grandmother (who was listening in without your knowledge. It may be impossible for you to prove.

You were having what you thought was a private conversation with your daughter's mother. If a 3rd person recorded that conversation and "all parties" to the conversation didn't consent to it, then a crime may have occurred.

MCL 750.539c (part of 1931 PA 328) says:

"Any person who is present or who is not present during a private conversation and who wilfully uses any device to eavesdrop upon the conversation without the consent of all parties thereto, or who knowingly aids, employs or procures another person to do the same in violation of this section, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a state prison for not more than 2 years or by a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both."

Don't jump to conclusions and accuse these people of committing a crime. My answer to your question is an opinion based on much less than half the facts. If you feel that the law has been violated, go to your local police department to investigate the incident. But there's no guarantee that a prosecutor would even issue such a serious charge against your daughter's grandmother under the circumstances.

Even if the call was 'illegally' recorded, the tape is probably still admissible in your family court case. Why? The "exclusionary ruule" applies to illegal searches/seizures by the government. The people you mentioned were not acting as government agents.