In a press conference following a fiery debate on Tuesday against Democrat Dan Schwartz, Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland claimed to a reporter that she was violating Maryland’s all-party consent law by recording him. A video posted by The Baltimore Banner shows the GOP lawmaker saying to Cat Murphy, a University of Maryland student who was in a group of journalists that Harris had reportedly invited to a separate room for a post-debate gaggle, “You do not have my permission to record. If you record, we will refer you to the prosecutor.” Murphy responded, saying, “Everyone in here is recording,” to which Harris replied, “but you are not allowed to. We are in a two-party state.” The heated exchange continued, and another reporter jumped in to add “this is a public forum,” before Harris ultimately walked away, telling the group “she’s ruining all your chances to get an answer about anything.”
While it’s true that Maryland’s two-party consent law prohibits communications from being recorded unless both parties have expressed permission, it specifically applies when the individuals being recorded have a reasonable expectation of privacy. And in this situation, there was no reasonable expectation of privacy, experts say.
“He was at a candidate forum, in a public place, running for public office,” said Lucy Dalglish, a professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland and a former media lawyer. “People were talking, members of the public were there—that’s not a private situation. You don’t have an expectation of privacy there.”
Michael Nilsson, a media lawyer and professor at George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, agreed: “Coming out of a debate and holding a press conference is about as little expectation of privacy as you could possibly have.”
