Description
Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, also known as the Wiretap Act, was passed by Congress to make sure that the government and law enforcement did not listen in on people’s private phone conversations. The government also realized that criminals used telephones to plan and discuss crimes, such as selling illegal drugs, murder, and terrorist attacks. The government wanted to make sure that criminals planning crimes were stopped, so they issued strict rules and regulations that the government had to meet to set up a wiretap or electronic interception of these criminal plans, conversations, and orders.
Assignment Guidelines
Address the following in 3–4 pages:
What is the best evidence rule? Explain in detail.
Why was the best evidence rule implemented into the U.S. court system? Explain.
What is the rationale behind its application?
Review the following cases with regard to wiretapping:
The development of federal law regarding privacy during telephone conversations and the government’s right or need to overhear criminal conversations conducted on the telephone when telephones were a new technology
Goldman v. United States
Katz v. United States
Summarize the current status of Title 3, Electronic Telephone Interception, also known as wiretaps, and any restrictions according to the reviewed cases above.
How must evidence derived from Title 3 or wiretapping be packaged and preserved? Explain.
How does Title 3 or wiretapping evidence relate to the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine? Explain.
If the original copies of the recorded conversations are not available or are destroyed, would other copies be allowed? Explain.
