NCJ Number
96403
Journal
Louisiana Law Review Volume: 42 Dated: (Summer 1982) Pages: 1323-1372
Date Published
1982
Length
50 pages
Annotation
The use of electronic surveillance by law enforcement agencies under judicial supervision expands individual freedom and is constitutional. It is needed because of the threat posed by organized crime to individual freedom and a democratic society.
Abstract
Organized crime consists of 25 gangs which make billions of dollars through illegal activities and which use murder, assault, extortion, intimidation, and corruption of law enforcement and other government officials to gain income and prevent apprehension and punishment. This organized crime group has been and is capable of depriving people of their rights to life, liberty, and property by its criminal acts. The seriousness of the problem requires effective law enforcement tools that are consistent with the Constitution. Electronic surveillance is one such tool. In Katz v. United States, the Supreme Court held that governmental electronic surveillance of a telephone conversation by a nonparticipant is a search and seizure subject to the fourth amendment. The requirements implicitly outlined in this decision were observed by Congress when it enacted Title III of the 1968 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. Courts of Appeal have upheld Title III's constitutionality, and the Supreme Court has implictly upheld it. Footnotes containing references are supplied.