Did Linda Tripp run afoul of MD law for illegally taping her conversations with Monica?
>>> Did Linda Tripp run afoul of MD law for illegally taping her conversations with Monica? <<<<
Yes, she did, but she was not taping in the interests of journalism.
There is definitely a 1st Amendment issue here.
Tripp was charged; the charges were later dropped. MD requires consent of all being taped. However, the state has not gone after TV stations who used the same technique as O’Keefe and received awards for their reporting.
Linda Tripp taped a phone conversation which could be contrued as an illegal wiretap. I think she won because Monica was not in MD so MD law did not apply.
In this case, I believe Hannah and her friend will prevail because they taped someone in a public place. Obviously if you are a tourist at Inner Harbor and you videotape a crime, you can not be prosecuted for lack of consent because it is a public place.
So I believe the lawsuit to be groundless because of the public place of business.
I personally have O’Malley on videotape playing with his band. I did not need consent because it was public.