Liberia, Aug. 31 -- Liberia's Constitution and Penal Code already say what should happen to a secretly recorded conversation. A precedent set in one courtroom this year should not quietly rewrite that law. And even if a judge lets Liberians hear the recording against Jewel Howard-Taylor, the harder question - the one this newspaper thinks matters - is whether the words on it come anywhere close to proving nine felony charges.

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN A COURTROOM in Monrovia and the front pages of this newspaper, a subtle but important shift has been happening Liberians have started talking about the recording at the center of the Howard-Taylor case as though the only question worth asking is whether a judge will let jurors hear it. That is the ...