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Prosecutors and public defenders clash over narrow evidentiary exception for private recordings
Summary
Baltimore City public defenders and the Maryland State's Attorneys Association debated a proposed evidentiary remedy that would allow certain privately made recordings into court while keeping Maryland’s two‑party consent rule; defenders warned of privacy erosion and entrapment, prosecutors described cases where recordings were the only evidence of serious crimes.
The House Judiciary Committee heard contrasting local perspectives on Nov. 18, 2025, about whether a judicially managed evidentiary remedy could allow privately made recordings into evidence in limited circumstances while preserving Maryland’s two‑party consent rule.
Marguerite Lanaux of the Baltimore City Office of the Public Defender told the committee that two‑party consent "guarantees greater privacy protection" and protects vulnerable people from fabricated, coerced or manipulative recordings. She warned that moving to a one‑party or broad exceptions…
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