Asked in Criminal Law for Florida

Q: Can I record someone without their consent if they're blackout drunk and abusing me and never remembering it?

Generally what I've heard is that any recording that's been taken without a person's permission can't be used in court, but if hypothetically I was being abused by a blackout drunk who never remembers the abuse, I can't get evidence without recording it... What if I hit them out of retaliation someday and they have evidence of it but when I accuse them of also abusing me they can say they never did it and not be lying because they really believe they didn't? I know you won't quite be able to make 100% perfectly clear sense of that question and I'm sorry but I can't fill in any of the blanks for you, they're blank for a reason. If you have a question that only has two possible answers could you please just give me a separate reply to each of the answers I could have given? Edit: To clarify, by retaliation I mean during the moment the abuse is happening, not later on

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1 Lawyer Answer
Terrence H Thorgaard
Terrence H Thorgaard
Answered
  • Freeeport, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: If you hit the perpetrator, some time after the fact, out of retaliation and not for self-defense, your evidence of the previous abuse would be irrelevant. You would be guilty of assault and battery.

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