The Illinois Supreme Court has affirmed the right of citizens to make audio recordings without first getting permission from all parties.

The court ruled in favor of defendants in two separate cases. In one instance, a man was charged with recording his own court proceedings without the absence of a court reporter. In another, a woman was charged after recording three separate phone conversations with a court employee.

The justices said that the eavesdropping law was meant to criminalize the recording of private conversations, but had been interpreted too widely.

“None of these examples implicate privacy interests, yet the statute makes it a felony to audio record each one,” the court wrote.