Warrantless Wiretapping Laws: The Throwback Edition

"Actually, warrantless wiretapping had been illegal both on federal and state levels for decades. But in 1968, climaxing a series of Supreme Court decisions striking down warrantless wiretapping and other forms of electronic eavesdropping as violative of the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable searches and seizures, Congress enacted Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act banning wiretapping and bugging by federal authorities except in certain carefully circumscribed areas. Moreover, permissible activity could not be undertaken without the explicit authority of a federal court, unless it involved a foreign security matter. This interdiction applied to state and local officers as well.

Title III stated specifically that any state activity in this area would be permissible only if preceded by a state legislative grant of such authority. However, this authority could not be less restrictive than the standards established by the federal government. The Congress, in adopting this legislation, was determined not only to punish unjustifiable interception, disclosure, or use of wire communications; it sought to ban the manufacture, distribution, possession, or advertising of intercepting equipment. Thus the act provided criminal sanctions for possession or use of the machines: 5 years in jail, a $10,000 fine, or both. In addition, civil suits were authorized: if an individual proved his phone was tapped, he could collect $100 for each day tapped, or $1,000, whichever was greater, plus punitive damages and legal fees from the tap operator." -From, "Protectors Of Privilege" By: Frank Donner