About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

10 Tulsa L.J. 386 (1974-1975)
Consent to Electronic Surveillance by a Party to a Conversation: A Different Approach

handle is hein.journals/tlj10 and id is 400 raw text is: NOTES AND COMMENTS CONSENT TO ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE BY A PARTY TO A CONVERSATION: A DIFFERENT APPROACH Donald R. Bradford Under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, a law enforcement officer is allowed to intercept wire or oral communi- cation where such officer is a party to the conversation or where one of the parties to the conversation has given prior consent to such inter- ception.1- Interception, whether by wiretapping, recording from an ex- tension telephone, or by any other means where done with consent of one of the parties is not subject to prior judicial approval, i.e., no war- rant is required for such surveillance and interception. That the foregoing provision of the Act is unconstitutional is the subject of this comment in which three fundamental arguments are pre- sented: (1) When a conversation is intercepted and recorded, much more than the substance of -the conversation is taken. Identity of the speaker, personality traits, emotional stress, and truthfulness of the words spoken are just a few of the elements of the recorded voice which may now be analyzed by modem electronic instruments. The sei- zure of these elements of voice is therefore a violation of the speaker's expected area of privacy. (2) The right to privacy and the free flow of different ideas is fundamentally necessary to a democratic society. Allowing electronic surveillance of speech without a warrant is a serious erosion of the very foundation of our social structure. (3) 1. it shall not be unlawful under this chapter for a person acting under color of law to intercept a wire or oral communication, where such person is a party to the com- munication or one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to such interception. 18 U.S.C. § 2511(c) (1970).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most