Expectations of privacy

In 2010, after James O'Keefe had taped his ACORN sting operation, one of his sorry victims sued him for invasion of privacy.  O'Keefe moved for summary judgment, which a federal judge in San Diego has just denied with this fascinating reasoning:

"ACORN is in the business of providing counseling and support for the community on various matters," Lorenz wrote.  "By its very nature, the organization handles personal matters with individual clients.  Defendants walked into ACORN and asked for plaintiff's help with tax forms.  . . .  Specifically, they solicited his help with setting up an illegal prostitution business with underaged girls.  . . .  Plaintiff, as a worker for an organization like ACORN, reasonably believed that the content of the conversation was sensitive enough that it would remain private." 

O'Keefe duped Vera by asking if the conversation would remain confidential, before he launched into details of the nonexistent scheme, Lorenz wrote. 

Over the course of a 40-minute conversation, Lorenz noted, the three "abruptly paused their conversation" after Vera's supervisor, David Lagstein, entered the office, and continued talking after the supervisor left. 

"Based on the surrounding circumstances, plaintiff reasonably believed that the conversation was private because it was held in his office with no one else present, and he believed that no one else was listening in on his conversation," Lorenz wrote.