Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1961 )


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  •                         November 6, 1961
    Honorable Jack Hardee      Opinion'No. WW-1186
    District Attorney
    3rd Judicial District      Re:   Whether Article 1334 of
    Athens, Texas                    the Penal Code applies
    to third party,wire
    tapping on telephone
    lines where a third
    party taps a telephone
    and intercepts a conver-
    sation between two other
    parties and related
    Dear Mr. Hardee:                 questions.
    You have requested an opinion as follows:
    "Please give me an opinion as to whether or
    not wire tapping, that is where a third;party
    taps a telephone line and intercepts and re-
    cords a conversation between two other parties,
    comes under the above article."
    Article 1334 o.fVernon's Penal Code is as follows:
    "If any person shall intentionally break, cut,
    pull or tear down, misplace or in any other
    manner injure any telegraph or telephone wire,
    post, machinery, or other necessary appurte-
    nances to any such line, or in any way wil-
    fully obstruct or interfere with the trans-
    mission of messages along such telegraph or
    telephone line, he shall be confined in the
    penitentiary not less than two nor more than
    five years or be fined not less than one
    hundred nor more than two thousand dollars."
    The court in Southwestern Telegraph & Telephone Co.
    v. Priest, 
    72 S.W. 241
    (Civ. App. 1903), held:
    "To constitute an offense under this article
    334 V.P.CJ, there must have been a break-
    P ng, cutting, etc., of some wire, post,
    machinery, or other necessary appurtenance,
    Honorable Jack Hardee         Page 2           Opinion No. W-1186
    in such manner as to interfere with the
    transmission of messages along the line."
    It is the opinion of this office that "wire tapping."
    as you defined it will not constitute a violation of the
    above Article of the Penal Code in the absence of a willful
    obst?uztion or interference with the transmission of messages
    alor.::
    such telephone lines. The interception and the record-
    ing of a conversation between two other parties would not of
    itself be an obstruction or interference with that conversation.
    SUMMARY
    The "tappinzand recording of a telephone
    conversation does not constitute a willful
    obstruction or interference with the
    transmission of messages as to violate
    Article 1334 of Vernon's Penal Code.
    Yours very truly,
    WILL WILSON
    Attorney General of Texas
    BY
    4 AdA
    n
    J. T. Walker
    Assistant Attorney General
    JTW:sh
    APPROVED:
    OPINION COMMITTEE
    ::.V. Geppert, Chairman
    Joseph Trimble
    Elmer McVey
    Riley Fletcher
    RRVIEWED FOR THE ATTOPNEY GENERAL
    5y : Houghton Brownlee, Jr.
    

Document Info

Docket Number: WW-1186

Judges: Will Wilson

Filed Date: 7/2/1961

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 2/18/2017