Electronic Surveillance (From Briefs of 100 Leading Cases in Law Enforcement, P 99-107, 1991, Rolando V. del Carmen, Jeffery T. Walker -- See NCJ-126275)

• NCJ Number: 126285
• Author(s): R V del Carmen; J T Walker
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: Anderson Publishing Co
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Supreme Court decisions concerning electronic surveillance are analyzed for their significance to law enforcement.

Abstract

In the case, On Lee v. U.S., 343 U.S. 747 (1952), the Court found that there is no violation of a suspect's fourth amendment right if a "friend" allows the police to listen in on a conversation. Electronic devices used to capture a conversation constitute a search under the fourth amendment, according to Berger v. New York, 388 U.S. 41 (1967). In Katz v. U.S., 389 U.S. 347 (1967), it was determined that any form of electronic surveillance, including wiretapping, that violates a reasonable expectation of privacy, constitutes a search. And, as stated in U.S. v. Karo, 468 U.S. 705 (1984), the warrantless monitoring of a beeper in a private residence violates the fourth amendment rights of individuals to privacy in their own homes and therefore cannot be conducted without a warrant. (The Court, however, reversed the decision on other grounds).