The decision granted a request for dismissal made by Annabel K. Melongo, a 39-year old woman who faced criminal charges under the Illinois Eavesdropping Act. The controversial law criminalizes the audio recording of any communication without the consent of all parties involved, regardless of whether the conversation was intended to be private. Melongo, who is representing herself in court, recorded three phone calls with a clerk at the Cook County Court Reporter’s office in Illinois without consent and posted them on her watchdog website in 2010, incurring six charges of eavesdropping. The eavesdropping law in Illinois “appears to be vague, restrictive and makes innocent conduct subject to prosecution,” wrote Circuit Court Judge Steven J. Goebel of Chicago in his ruling that was filed on July 26. “[T]he fault of the Statute is that it does not require an accompanying culpable mental state or criminal purpose for a person to be convicted of a felony.” (more)
