BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WANT TO GET ON TAPE

A fellow in Massachusetts was stopped by police in 1998. He felt he was being hassled, so he secretly turned on a tape recorder in his car. He later took the tape to police headquarters to complain about what he considered to be harassment. Instead, he was arrested and convicted for violating that state's electronic surveillance law. His conviction was upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Court.

Missouri should be pleased to know that the same motorist wouldn't have been arrested in the Show Me State, which allows the taping of conversations as long as one of the parties being taped knows what's going on.

However, the taping of conversations by a third party is illegal. Cape Girardeau County's prosecuting attorney, Morley Swingle, said this law is frequently breached by suspicious husbands trying to tape phone conversations between the wives and paramours.