Opinion No. (1997)

DANIEL E. LUNGREN Attorney General ANTHONY M. SUMMERS Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE JAMES L. BRULTE, MEMBER OF THE CALIFORNIA SENATE, has requested an opinion on the following question: May a California innkeeper electronically record all incoming telephone conversations so that a voiceprint may be obtained in the event a bomb threat is made? CONCLUSION A California innkeeper may not electronically record all incoming telephone conversations so that a voiceprint may be obtained in the event a bomb threat is made. However, an individual telephone conversation that contains a bomb threat may be recorded. ANALYSIS We are advised that bomb threats made by telephone callers to hotels and motels have become an increasing problem for innkeepers throughout the state. We are asked whether, as a means of preserving evidence that may be used to identify and prosecute those who make such threats, an innkeeper may electronically record all incoming telephone calls. Specifically, may innkeepers use a recording device similar to an aircraft's cockpit voice recorder in which the tape would be examined or replayed only in the event a threat were received? Otherwise, the tape would be…