I remember seeing in the many articles about Linda Tripp violating the telephone clause of the Maryland wiretap statute when she taped Monica Lewinsky that there had been vigorous enforcement of that statute in the past, except where it was violated by law enforcement personnel (no surprise there). There is a similar statute here in Oregon, and a former prosecutor that I was hiring as an attorney told me that that law is strictly enforced in Oregon, and he had successfully prosecuted several such cases himself. We've had this law for quite a while, so I assume it's survived the appeal process in the state Appelate & Supreme Courts.
This makes perfect sense, because District Attorneys are elected officials. They will do whatever makes a good impression with the public. Posturing as protecting the privacy of citizens by going after those who make any sort of illegal recording is a good political tactic for a DA seeking reelection.
Ruling, Indictment Nolle Prosequi At Request Of The State, May 31, 2000
Seems its actually quite hard to prosecute sucessfully against a personal tapeing of one's own phone call in Maryland.
This claim of many articles that say "there had been vigorous enforcement of that [Maryland wiretap] statute in the past" -- that specically I'd like you to try and back that up with some cites. As I recollect, the opposite case was true --- that the statue was rarely prosecuted!