AP) — The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday declared one of the nation’s toughest eavesdropping laws unconstitutional, which will likely force state legislators to overhaul the privacy legislation.
The 1961 Illinois Eavesdropping Act, which made it a felony for someone to record a conversation unless all parties involved agreed, violates free speech and due process protections, the court decided in unanimous decisions in two related cases focused on audio recordings.
“We conclude … that the recording provision of the eavesdropping statute, burdens substantially more speech than is necessary to serve a legitimate state interest in protecting conversational privacy,” the court said in its opinion in People v. Melongo. Read More