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Who Is 'Any Person'Anyway?

By William Wright and Trhesa Barksdale Patterson

The federal government prohibits “any person“ from intercepting oral, wire or electronic communications. Federal Wiretapping Act, 18 U.S.C. ' 2511(1). Though “any person“ sounds universal enough, the definition of “any person“ is complicated by exceptions ' the explicit statutory exceptions and the implicit exceptions created by federal circuit courts. As yet, the Supreme Court has not clarified the Act's “any person“ definition. Thus, family lawyers remain uncertain as to how far the prohibitions of the Federal Wiretapping Act extend into the family home.

Recent cases bring more uncertainty to the issue. A reading of two recent district court decisions and a state court decision could lead a lawyer to conclude that the scope of liability under the federal law has no limitation at all within the domestic realm. In other words, “any person“ may be any spouse or any parent or any other family member who intentionally intercepts oral, wire or electronic communications without the consent of at least one party to the communication.

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