Abstract
For most, the audio of a deceased loved one is a treasured keepsake. For the families of violent crime victims, it can be a harrowing reminder of their loved one’s death. And it can also be a source of content for true crime podcasters.
When a person dies from a violent crime and their killer is prosecuted, the audio associated with the crime (body camera footage, 911 calls, surveillance footage, etc.) frequently becomes public record. Public record laws vary greatly across the United States but typically err toward disclosure to promote government transparency. Broad public record laws benefit the public by permitting journalists, researchers, and individuals to access records used to hold governments accountable. But these same public record laws often provide little, if any, protection for the audio of deceased violent crime victims, thereby enabling true crime podcasters to access and publish recordings of a person’s most vulnerable and traumatic moments without their family’s consent.
This Note uses property and intellectual property law to explore how states can protect decedents’ audio from true crime podcasters while still maintaining their public record laws. States can grant victims’ families a limited right to prevent podcasters from using their loved ones’ audio by expanding an estate’s property rights. Through these changes, states can reduce the revictimization of decedents’ families and protect the voices of victims.
Recommended Citation
Alexandra M. Hudson, Voices from Beyond the Grave: Protecting the Audio of Murder Victims Through (Intellectual) Property Law, 83 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 397 (2026).Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr/vol83/iss1/9
Included in
Intellectual Property Law Commons, Privacy Law Commons, Property Law and Real Estate Commons