Some secret recordings are legal

According to Missouri law, it is legal to record a conversation in person or over the telephone as long as one person knows it is being done.

Missouri's Sunshine Law offers different guidelines for public meetings, however, that would make some types of recordings illegal.

Whether Cape Girardeau County Commissioner Jay Purcell's recordings are illegal is a matter of interpretation.

According to Section 610.020 of the Missouri State Statutes, public bodies must allow for audio, video or other electronic recording of open meetings. Closed meetings cannot be recorded without the consent of a majority of officials present. Anyone who secretly records a closed meeting faces up to 15 days in jail and a fine up to $300.

Missouri Press Association attorney Jean Maneke said that, while Purcell's actions in recording private conversations with another commissioner and at least one closed meeting appear distasteful, he didn't break the law.

She said both would be illegal closed meetings. The car ride with Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones was not posted as a meeting according to state law; Auditor David Ludwig should have been confronted in an open meeting because he is an elected official, she said.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said the meeting with Ludwig was properly closed for an employee discipline matter. In that case, the secret recording may be illegal.