Opinion
CUMUCD-CR-13-694
09-04-2013
STATE OF MAINE v. JESS BEASLEY
DECISION
William S. Brodrick Active-Retired Justice, Superior Court
Defendant, Jess Beasley, seeks to suppress a recorded phone call on the grounds that he did not consent to have the call recorded in Massachusetts, where he was residing at the time he received the call. Massachusetts is a so-called "two party" state whereas Maine is a so-called "one party" state.
Paige Sawyer, the alleged victim in this case, made the recorded call at the request of a Portland police detective. During the call Mr. Beasley made incriminating statements. He also stated that he was worried that the call was being recorded.
The stipulated facts reveal that the Portland police were aware at the time of the call that Mr. Beasley was likely living with his mother in Martha's Vineyard. However, the stipulated facts do not indicate where Mr. Beasley was domiciled. His cell phone still used a Maine area code. Also, at the time of the rape and assault, Mr. Beasley had been living in Portland. Ms. Sawyer lived in Maine at the time of the crime and at the time of the call.
Although not precisely on point, the logic of State v. Lipham is persuasive. Lipham states that in determining choice of law issues, the law of the state with the most significant relationship to the recorded conversation prevails.
Here, as in Lipham, the communication was initiated in Maine and recorded in Maine. The communication concerned felonies committed in Maine and concerned two persons who at the time of the crimes were both residents of Maine. Furthermore, the case will be tried in Maine. The fact that Mr. Beasley was staying with his mother in Massachusetts, in the absence of any evidence that he had changed his domicile to Massachusetts, does not begin to outweigh the facts that favor Maine law. Finally, according to the discovery, Mr. Beasley was aware of the danger of having the call recorded. He cannot argue that he was somehow duped into making incriminating statements by his reliance on the Massachusetts "two party" consent law in regard to recorded calls.
For the above stated reasons, the clerk will make the following entry on the docket by reference.
Defendant Jess Beasley's motion to suppress is denied in all respects.