Recording
Penal Code 16.02 — one party's consent, and speech that is not interference
Texas's interception section makes it an offense to intentionally intercept a wire, oral or electronic communication, or to use or disclose one knowing or having reason to know it was intercepted unlawfully. The offense is a felony of the second degree.
A party to the conversation, or someone with one party's prior consent, has a defense. It is an affirmative defense that a person not acting under color of law intercepted a communication they were a party to, or one where a party gave prior consent, unless the communication was intercepted for the purpose of committing an unlawful act.
An oral communication, for this section, is one uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that it is not subject to interception, under circumstances justifying that expectation. The definitions come from the Code of Criminal Procedure's chapter on interception, which the section adopts.
Interfering with an officer is a crime; speech alone is a defense. A person commits interference with public duties by, with criminal negligence, interrupting, disrupting, impeding or otherwise interfering with a peace officer performing a duty or exercising authority, a Class B misdemeanor. It is a defense that the interference consisted of speech only.
Where someone intentionally disseminates an officer's home address, home telephone number or other personal information the section describes, the law presumes, subject to rebuttal, that the person interfered. Whether filming at a particular scene interfered with an officer, and federal law on recording, are not settled here.
Sources for this section (3)
- Penal Code 16.02 — Unlawful interception, use, or disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications
- Penal Code 38.15 — Interference with public duties
- Crim. Proc. art. 18A.001 — Definitions for interception, including oral communication
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Texas attorney.