Opinion ID: 413377
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Inadequacy of the affidavit

Text: 21 Appellant also argues that the affidavit supporting the government's application for the listening device failed to provide the required full and complete statement as to whether or not other investigative procedures have been tried and failed or why they reasonably appear to be unlikely to succeed if tried or to be too dangerous[.] 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2518(1)(c) (1976 & Supp. V 1981). 11 This requirement ensures that wiretapping is not resorted to in situations where traditional investigative techniques would suffice to expose the crime. United States v. Kahn, 415 U.S. 143, 153 n. 12, 94 S.Ct. 977, 983 n. 12, 39 L.Ed.2d 225 (1974). 22 We find the application more than adequate to fulfill the statutory requirement. While appellant terms the affidavit conclusory, in fact it is remarkably detailed. It provides a thorough explanation of the need for the listening device--the need to determine the scope of the illegal fencing operation, the identities of the parties, the methods of operation, the possibility of police involvement, and, perhaps most critically, the need to gather evidence to prove knowledge on the part of Martin and his co-conspirators. It is clear that fences are more difficult to prosecute because superficially they do run legitimate businesses and can merely assert their lack of knowledge as to whether the goods they bought were in fact stolen. And yet we must be careful not to permit the government merely to characterize a case as a drug conspiracy or a fencing conspiracy that is therefore inherently difficult to investigate. The affidavit must show with specificity why in this particular investigation ordinary means of investigation will fail. See United States v. Johnson, supra, 696 F.2d at 124; United States v. Williams, 580 F.2d 578, 588 (D.C.Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 832, 99 S.Ct. 112, 58 L.Ed.2d 127 (1978). The government here provided detailed information about two confidential sources that were reluctant to testify, the various means that had already been tried (including pen registers, seizures of trash, and undercover operations), and why these techniques failed to provide adequate evidence. In our judgment, the government has clearly carried its burden of showing that the listening device was necessary as other procedures, while somewhat successful, had been inadequate.