QUESTION
Can I use video I recorded of the respondent threatening & lunging towards me as evidence when filing for a harassment restraining order?
Asked on Sep 08th, 2011 on Civil Litigation - New York
More details to this question:
I am a 50 year old female and I live in the Bronx , NY. My neighbors have been threatening to kill cats in our neighborhood by shooting them.. I called the ASPCA animal police and they said there was nothing they could do unless I had proof of them physically harming an animal. I asked if a video would count and was told yes. Today my neighbors thought they saw a cat go into their garage. I grabbed my camera and started video taping them in case they found a cat and tried to hurt it. Their attention turned to me and in the course of taping, the video captured my neighbor destroying my property. I called the police and while I was waiting for them to arrive my neighbor lunged at me. First he grabbed my camera, but I wouldn''t let go so he did and walked away but then he came back at me again with his fists clenched and threatened to bury me among other things. Another neighbor had to jump between us to stop him from attacking me. I was visibly shaken.
1 ANSWER
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The general rule is that you cannot tape someone else's conversations without their permission. Therefore if you taped them without them seeing you would be able to use the picture but not the sound. In this case it seems as those the person being taped was fully aware of the taping occurring, as that is why they got visibly upset. With knowledge of the taping they continued to act as they did and you captured it on film. Therefore you should be able to use it in order to gain a harassment restraining order.
You should consult your local police if you are feeling threatened or local counsel to get a direct understanding of the local evidence laws that are allowed or required in order to get a restraining order.
Answered on Sep 15th, 2011 at 5:21 PM