Is it legal to hire someone to witness a situation (i.e. workplace bullying)?
<p>I'm hoping to get some insights about the legality of hiring a witness to gather evidence. </p>

<p>This person would be an unaffiliated third-party that simply listens in on a co-worker conversation from an adjacent cafe table, in hopes of catching an admission of guilt.</p>

<p>There's no case, unless the co-worker provides an admission of guilt (e.g. "Yeah, I gave you an impossible deadline so you would fail and give big boss a reason to can you."). </p>

<p>My goal is simply to get a witness-signed transcript of the conversation, as someone told me it's almost impossible to legally record people in California  with electronic devices. </p>

<p>Is it legal to hire someone to witness this or do they need legal credentials? Could I be exposed to any liabilities? ... Any gotchas? </p>

<p>My alternative is to pay a detective, which would be more expensive, and if I need to pay one to show up in court, it would also be more pricey.</p>

<p>This is a fairly old question, and you may very well have burnt yourself in the act, but in case others find it, let it be said: Hiring someone to &quot;overhear a conversation from an adjacent table&quot; may very well end you up in jail.</p>
<p>Penal Code § 632 prohibits and orders confidential communications to be, not only recorded, but overheard. Now, of course, if you go into a café where many people speak, and then you put that guy in there, it might work out. If you have a contract with the person you want to record and this is the means you are trying to obtain the advantages of the contract, this may still pose civil liability in case the other party is harmed.</p>
<p>They may very well claim a breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.</p>
<p>However, it is far from &quot;impossible&quot; to legally record a conversation.</p>
<p>In detail regarding the legality of recording and monitoring confidential communications, please take a look at this answer of mine:</p>
<p>Here's a link to it: <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/47256/can-phone-conversations-be-used-in-court-as-defense/65260#65260">Can phone conversations be used in court as defense?</a></p>

california recording witnesses