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Recording

SDCL § 23A-35A-20 — a sender, a receiver or a party to the conversation may record it, and recording without any party's consent is a felony

One party is enough. The crime is overhearing or recording a communication with an eavesdropping device without the consent of either a sender or receiver, or a conversation without the consent of a party to it. A sender, a receiver or a party who records is not the person the section describes.

  • SDCL § 23A-35A-20
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Recording without that consent is a Class 5 felony. So is a juror recording or listening in on the jury's own deliberations.

  • SDCL § 23A-35A-20

Federal law and the rules of a particular place, such as a courtroom, set their own limits. A particular recording is a question for a licensed South Dakota attorney.

  • SDCL § 23A-35A-20
Sources for this section (1)
  1. SDCL § 23A-35A-20 — Overhearing or recording communications, conversations, or jury deliberations by means of eavesdropping device as felony

Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed South Dakota attorney.

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