Opinion ID: 3064974
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: appellants’ motion to suppress

Text: WIRETAP EVIDENCE WAS PROPERLY DENIED. Appellants argue that the district court erred in denying their motion to suppress wiretap evidence, because (1) the Government failed to show necessity for the wiretap on TT10, as required by 18 U.S.C. §§ 2518(1)(c) & (3)(c); (2) the wiretap was not discontinued after the Government learned that TT10 was primarily used by Terry Jackson; (3) the GovernUNITED STATES v. REED 10173 ment colluded with the telephone company to make illegally intercepted calls appear as though they were lawfully intercepted on TT10; (4) the Government failed to timely seal the recordings, and completely failed to seal the CDC for TT10; and (5) the wiretap was not properly monitored by federal agents. We address each of these arguments individually below. In reviewing the denial of a motion to suppress evidence, we review the district court’s factual findings for clear error. See United States v. Hermanek, 289 F.3d 1076, 1085 (9th Cir. 2002) (citation omitted). We review de novo “whether an application for a wiretap order is supported by a full and complete statement of the facts in compliance with § 2518(1)(c).” United States v. Rivera, 527 F.3d 891, 898 (9th Cir. 2008) (citation omitted). We review for abuse of discretion the issuing judge’s conclusion that the wiretap was necessary. Id. (citation omitted). A. The Affidavit in Support of the Wiretap Application Met the Necessity Requirements of § 2518. Appellants first argue that the wiretap of TT10 was not supported by an affidavit demonstrating necessity, because traditional investigative techniques had not been exhausted. They raise no challenge on appeal to the probable cause for the wiretap. We conclude that the district court did not err in finding that the affidavit satisfied the necessity requirement. [1] The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2522 (the “wiretap statute”), governs wiretap applications. After showing probable cause, the Government must also prove necessity by making “a 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 . . . .” Rivera, 527 F.3d at 897 n.1 (quoting § 2518(1)(c)). The issuing judge may approve the wiretap if he or she determines 10174 UNITED STATES v. REED that “normal investigative procedures have been tried and have failed or reasonably appear to be unlikely to succeed if tried or to be too dangerous . . . .” Id. (quoting § 2518(3)(c)). The purpose of these requirements is to ensure 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 (1974).
Statement of Facts in Compliance with § 2518(1)(c) To determine whether an affidavit contains a full and complete statement of facts in compliance with § 2518(1)(c), we must “assess whether the affidavit attests that adequate investigative tactics were exhausted before the wiretap order was sought or that such methods reasonably appeared unlikely to succeed or too dangerous.” Rivera, 527 F.3d at 898 (citation omitted). [2] The Government’s affidavit, in support of the wiretap application, describes prior investigative techniques and/or explains why these techniques had been or would be too dangerous or unsuccessful. The affidavit addresses other wiretaps, specific confidential informants, unfruitful physical surveillance, unproductive search warrants, interviews, trash searches, financial investigations, and pen registers/trap and trace devices/telephone tolls and subscriber information. In each case, the affidavit describes (1) the efforts undertaken and (2) why the results were insufficient or why a proffered technique would be unavailing in the context of this particular drug conspiracy investigation. [3] Appellants contend that federal agents failed to follow new leads, new informants, and other new evidence provided by local law enforcement before applying for the wiretap. They also contend that the affidavit omitted law enforcement’s success using normal investigative techniques, includUNITED STATES v. REED 10175 ing the use of a tracking device on Reed’s white van. Reed contends that the investigative techniques listed in the affidavit were not directed at him individually, but related only to the broader conspiracy investigation. He therefore suggests that techniques such as informants, search warrants, and tracking devices were not fully utilized. These arguments are unconvincing in light of the Government’s affidavit, which sufficiently sets forth reasons (1) why the informants would not produce further evidence (informants were in custody, were unwilling, lacked further information about Reed, or were no longer trusted by Reed), (2) why a search warrant would not be successful (Government did not know where Reed resided), and (3) why tracking devices were ineffective (Reed and associates constantly changed cars). Any omissions in the affidavit regarding the limited success achieved by traditional investigative techniques does not require suppression, because such omissions were not material in causing the wiretap warrant to issue. See id. at 898. Accordingly, we conclude that the Government made a “full and complete statement” of prior investigative procedures and why these procedures failed or would be unlikely to succeed.
in Finding Necessity for the Wiretap. When reviewing the district court’s finding of necessity, “we employ a ‘common sense approach to evaluate the reasonableness of the government’s good faith efforts to use traditional investigative tactics or its decision to forgo such tactics based on the unlikelihood of their success or the probable risk of danger involved with their use.’ ” Rivera, 527 F.3d at 902 (quoting United States v. Gonzalez, Inc., 412 F.3d 1102, 1112 (9th Cir. 2005)); see also S. Rep. No. 1097, 90th Cong., 2d Sess., reprinted in 1968 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2112, 2190 (“Merely because a normal investigative technique is theoretically possible, it does not follow that it is likely. What the 10176 UNITED STATES v. REED [necessity] provision envisions is that the showing be tested in a practical and commonsense fashion.”) (internal citations omitted). [4] “The necessity for the wiretap is evaluated in light of the government’s need not merely to collect some evidence, but to ‘develop an effective case against those involved in the conspiracy.’ ” Rivera, 527 F.3d at 902 (quoting United States v. Decoud, 456 F.3d 996, 1007 (9th Cir. 2006)). “[L]aw enforcement officials need not exhaust every conceivable alternative before obtaining a wiretap.” United States v. McGuire, 307 F.3d 1192, 1196-97 (9th Cir. 2002) (citation omitted). The issuing court has considerable discretion in finding necessity, particularly when the case involves the investigation of a conspiracy. Id. at 1197-98. This court has “consistently upheld findings of necessity where traditional investigative techniques lead only to apprehension and prosecution of the main conspirators, but not to apprehension and prosecution of . . . other satellite conspirators.” Id. at 1198 (quoting United States v. Torrez, 908 F.2d 1417, 1422 (9th Cir. 1990)). This case involves a drug manufacturing and distribution conspiracy. The record is clear that the Government did not seek to use the wiretap as the initial step in its ongoing investigation, but instead employed numerous investigative techniques, relied on state and local law enforcement efforts,4 and 4 Appellants suggest that the investigative techniques employed by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s department should be distinguished from those employed in the related federal investigation for purposes of determining necessity. They argue that regardless of the investigative techniques previously exhausted by state/local authorities, federal authorities must independently exhaust investigative techniques to satisfy the necessity requirement. We reject this argument. Federal and state/local law enforcement routinely work together and share information when investigating criminal activity. Using a common sense approach, if a local agency has employed a certain investigative technique in a particular case, federal agencies can rely on the ineffectiveness of that technique for purposes of showing necessity in the federal investigation of the same case. UNITED STATES v. REED 10177 considered using a number of alternative techniques over the course of its 18-month investigation. [5] In light of the representations made in the Government’s affidavit, the issuing court had a sufficient basis to find that the wiretap order was essential to the success of the conspiracy investigation. Accordingly, we conclude that the issuing court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the wiretap was necessary to identify the full scope of the Reed organization and “develop an effective case” against its members. See Rivera, 527 F.3d at 902 (citing Decoud, 456 F.3d at 1007). Williams and Johnson also challenge the affidavit supporting the application for the wiretap on Target Telephone 11 (“TT11”), on the basis that the affidavit for TT11 was based on the same showing of necessity as was used for TT10 and that some of the evidence derived from the wiretap of TT10 was used to support the TT11 application. Because we affirm the district court’s finding of necessity as to TT10, we reject these challenges to the affidavit for TT11. B. The Government Was Not Required to Terminate the Wiretap of TT10 after Learning That Terry Jackson Was the Primary User. Appellants argue that, once authorities discovered that TT10’s primary user was Terry Jackson, they should have immediately discontinued the wiretap. They contend that to continue listening to Jackson’s phone calls was akin to getting a search warrant for one house, searching the wrong house, and then even after discovering that it is the wrong house, continuing the search anyway. We disagree with this analogy in light of the language of § 2518. Authorization for a wiretap is based on probable cause to believe that the telephone is being used to facilitate the commission of a crime, and the order need not name any particu10178 UNITED STATES v. REED lar person if such person is unknown. See § 2518(1)(b)(iv)); Kahn, 415 U.S. at 157; United States v. Nunez, 877 F.2d 1470, 1473 n.1 (10th Cir. 1989) (“[T]he government ha[s] no duty to establish probable cause as to each interceptee. It is sufficient that there was probable cause to tap the phone.”). [6] We have previously stated that wiretap authority is tied “to specific communications facilities or locations,” and “[a] cellular phone number is a ‘communications facility.’ ” Hermanek, 289 F.3d at 1086 & n.3. Identification of individuals whose communications will be intercepted is only required “if known.” § 2518(4)(a). Interpreting this provision, the Supreme Court said, “Congress could not have intended that the authority to intercept must be limited to those conversations between a party named in the order and others, since at least in some cases, the order might not name any specific party at all.” Kahn, 415 U.S. at 157. [7] The Government concedes that, after four hours of monitoring TT10, it was clear that Jackson was the primary user. Nonetheless, the record shows that TT10 was being used in the furtherance of Reed’s PCP enterprise, that Jackson (a previously unknown associate of Reed) called and received calls from Reed regarding PCP manufacturing, and, on at least one occasion, Jackson answered a call on TT10 for Reed and handed the phone to Reed who then proceeded with the conversation. The Government did not get an order for the wrong phone, nor intercept calls on a phone for which they had no order. Although the primary, known target was Reed, the objective of the wiretap was to intercept communications made over TT10 to identify the co-conspirators in the PCP manufacturing conspiracy. In the application, the Government identified Jackson as the subscriber of TT10. The Government subsequently notified the issuing court that Jackson was the primary user, that he was involved in conversations regarding the PCP conspiracy, and that Reed continued to call and receive calls from TT10 regarding PCP manufacturing. Neither the order nor the wiretap statute requires suppression UNITED STATES v. REED 10179 of legally intercepted conversations merely because Reed was not the primary user of TT10. Appellants make the additional argument that, to intercept calls on TT10, the Government must have made a separate showing of necessity as to Jackson once it learned that TT10 was primarily used by Jackson. In other words, the Government had not exhausted traditional investigative techniques with regard to Jackson, did not show necessity with regard to Jackson, and therefore the wiretap and all derivative evidence should be suppressed. We reject this argument, given the circumstances of this case. [8] First, “the government may seek a wiretap authorization in order to discover the identities of suspected coconspirators, and a conversation involving a party not named in the authorization that reveals that party’s involvement in the criminal activity under investigation is admissible.” See United States v. Homick, 964 F.2d 899, 904 (9th Cir. 1992) (citing Kahn, 415 U.S. at 156-57). The wiretap application for TT10, on its face, names certain subjects, in particular Reed, and “others unknown.” The Government acknowledged that TT10 was subscribed to by Jackson, and that TT10 was being used by Reed and others, to advance their conspiracy to manufacture and distribute PCP. Reed was clearly using TT10 in the furtherance of that conspiracy, which Appellants have not disputed. At the time of the wiretap application, the Government knew only that Terry Jackson was the subscriber of TT10, but Jackson was not a known conspirator. Second, the necessity requirement is directed to the objective of the investigation as a whole, and not to any particular person. If the Government can demonstrate that ordinary investigative techniques would not disclose information covering the scope of the drug trafficking enterprise under investigation, then it has established necessity for the wiretap. See McGuire, 307 F.3d at 1197-99. As with probable cause, “the government ha[s] no duty to establish [necessity] as to each 10180 UNITED STATES v. REED possible interceptee. It is sufficient that there was [necessity] to tap the phone.” Cf. Nunez, 877 F.2d at 1473 n.1 (citations omitted). As discussed above, we conclude that the Government sufficiently established necessity for the wiretap with regard to its investigation of the drug trafficking conspiracy as a whole. C. The District Court Did Not Err in Finding That the Government Had Not Illegally Intercepted Tele- phone Calls. Appellants argue that (1) the Government illegally intercepted calls from another of Reed’s cellular telephones, “the 619 number,” without a court order, (2) transferred the illegally intercepted calls to the wireroom for TT10 to make the call appear to be legally intercepted, and (3) then colluded with the telephone company to conceal the illegal act. The district court found that no such illegal wiretap occurred. Reviewing the record, we conclude that the district court’s findings are not clearly erroneous. See Hermanek, 289 F.3d at 1085 (factual findings reviewed for clear error). First, the Government presented evidence in the form of declarations from the agent in charge of the investigation and an employee of the telephone company, stating that no wiretap was conducted on the 619 number. Second, the record shows that nearly every one of the suspect calls from the 619 number involved Reed speaking with Jackson. Jackson was the listed subscriber and primary user of TT10, for which the Government had a lawful wiretap order. Therefore, the direct evidence in the record supports the conclusion that the Government intercepted calls on TT10 between Reed (using the 619 number) and Jackson (using TT10). Appellants’ theory is based on “circumstantial evidence,” including discrepancies between wiretap investigation records and billing records provided by the telephone company, as well as the suggestion that the 619 number was previously UNITED STATES v. REED 10181 subscribed to the Long Beach Police Department.5 Appellants point to Government wiretap records that do not precisely match billing records provided by the telephone company. A defense expert testified that, because the CDC was not provided by the Government, he could not do a complete analysis of the wiretap. He nonetheless opined that, because some of the dial tones heard in the recordings did not sound like cellular telephone calls, the Government may have been wiretapping other telephones. The Government’s wiretap records also showed Reed calling TT10 more than twenty-seven times from the 619 number, but telephone billing records for TT10 do not show all of these calls. Appellants argue that this proves that the intercepted calls were not done from the authorized wiretap of TT10, but from an unauthorized and illegal wiretap of the 619 number. Appellants further speculate that the Government colluded with the telephone company to cover up the illegal wiretap. When Reed subpoenaed the records for the 619 telephone, the records for the period when Reed called TT10 5 Appellants speculate that the Government must have changed the subscriber information (to a fictitious account) on the 619 number and planted it with Reed to facilitate their illegal monitoring. In support of this theory, Appellants relied on the opinion of a former DEA agent who testified that, based on his investigation of the 619 number, he believed that it had previously been subscribed to the Long Beach Police Department. Billing records for the 619 number showed that it was subscribed to Aric Kadosh, a fictitious account, and had once belonged to the City of Long Beach. When the cell phone was used by the City of Long Beach, multiple calls were made to Long Beach police officers, and therefore Appellants assert that the 619 telephone must have belonged to the Long Beach police department. Because the FBI and Government task force investigating Reed once interviewed a cooperating witness in Long Beach, “possibly at the Long Beach Police Department,” Appellants speculate that the Government provided a cellular phone (the 619 number) to the witness to give to Reed. The Government challenges this theory by pointing out that the 619 telephone was one of five numbers used by Reed, all of which were subscribed to by the same fictitious account, and all of which were shut down shortly after seizure of the van containing PCP. 10182 UNITED STATES v. REED using the 619 telephone turned up missing. Therefore, Appellants argue that the Government must have been monitoring the 619 number without a court order. To explain the discrepancies between the phone records and telephone company records, a DEA technician testified that the DEA equipment could not capture all of the electronic data sent by the telephone company. A telephone company employee also testified that billing records do not reflect incomplete or dropped calls, and “even when calls are completed, and communication takes place, technical failures may cause some calls not to be reflected in billing records.” The telephone company employee also testified that billing records may contain inaccuracies, because they are maintained by an outside billing service, and it is not unusual for the billing statement to show fewer calls than the pen register and wiretap data. [9] We find Appellants’ theory to be highly speculative and supported only by tenuous, circumstantial evidence.6 The district court’s conclusion that there was no illegal wiretapping of the 619 number is supported by the record. Therefore, we cannot say that the district court’s findings are clearly erroneous, or that the district court erred in denying the motion to suppress based on the allegation of a warrantless wiretap of the 619 number. D. The Government Properly and Timely Sealed the Wiretap Recordings. [10] We reject Appellants’ argument that there was undue delay in sealing the wiretap recordings for TT10 and other lines. Section 2518(8)(a) requires that “[i]mmediately upon 6 Further, we note that the defense expert’s opinion that some of the calls did not sound like cellular phones does not support Appellants’ theory that the Government illegally intercepted calls on the 619 number, where the 619 number was a cellular telephone. UNITED STATES v. REED 10183 the expiration of the period of [a wiretap] order, or extensions thereof, such recordings shall be made available to the judge issuing such order and sealed under his directions.” § 2518(8)(a). We have previously borrowed the interpretation of other circuits that “immediately sealing recordings” means “within one or two days” and “any delay beyond that certainly calls for explanation.” United States v. Pedroni, 958 F.2d 262, 265 (9th Cir. 1992) (citations omitted). The length of a delay is not dispositive, but the Government must “explain not only why a delay occurred but also why it is excusable.” Id. at 265-66 (admitting recordings after 14 day delay and citing cases admitting recordings after delays of 20, 39, 57 and 118 days) (citation and quotation marks omitted). Further, “[t]he unavailability of the issuing or supervising judge may consti- tute a satisfactory explanation for a sealing delay.” Id. at 266. We review de novo the district court’s determination that the Government’s reasons for delay in sealing the wiretap recordings were satisfactory. Id. at 265 (citation omitted). [11] In this case, Appellants cry foul over a six day delay in sealing the wiretap recordings for TT10.7 The district court concluded that the Government had complied with § 2518(8)(a), because that section requires that “immediately upon expiration” of the wiretap order, “the recordings shall be made available to the judge issuing such order.” (emphasis added). The record shows that the Government made its applications to seal the recordings within one or two court days after the wiretaps terminated, and then sought the first available date provided by the district court for sealing.8 Thus, the 7 Appellants also challenge the four-day delay in sealing TT11, and a seven-day delay in sealing Target Telephone 8 (“TT8”). 8 The record shows that for TT8, the wiretap terminated on Friday, March 28, 2003 at 9:00 pm, and the application to seal the recordings made the following Tuesday on April 1, 2003, with the court issuing the order to seal on April 4, 2003. For TT10, the wiretap terminated on Friday, May 2, 2003, the application filed on the following Monday, and the seal ordered on May 8, 2003. Finally, for TT11, the wiretap terminated on Thursday, May 29, 2003, with the application to seal made the same day, and granted the following Monday, June 2, 2003. We conclude that none of these delays is so extreme, nor the explanation insufficient, to require suppression. 10184 UNITED STATES v. REED Government made the recordings immediately available to the district court. Although the actual sealing of the recordings was not always accomplished within two days, the record shows that any delay was the result of the district judge’s unavailability due to a full calendar. We conclude that this explanation is satisfactory for the short delays involved in this case. See Pedroni, 958 F.2d at 265. Therefore, the district court correctly denied the motion to suppress on this basis. E. Section 2518(8)(a) Does Not Require the Government to Seal CDC. [12] Appellants also argue that the wiretap evidence should be suppressed, because the Government failed to seal CDC from TT10. The district court ruled that § 2518(8) does not apply to CDC, because it is not an “oral or wire communication.” Whether § 2518(8) requires the sealing of CDC is a question of first impression for this court. We review de novo the district court’s construction or interpretation of a statute. United States v. Cabaccang, 332 F.3d 622, 624-25 (9th Cir. 2003) (en banc). We affirm, holding that CDC is not an intercepted communication falling within the sealing requirements of § 2518(8). We first emphasize that CDC is separate and distinct from the substantive, oral content of a telephone call. In this case, the record shows that the wiretap order for TT10, which also authorized the use of a pen register and trap and trace device, directed the telephone company to provide the Government with both the oral call content (“CCC”) and CDC. CCC encompasses only the oral conversations that are transmitted over the telephone line, while CDC is data about the “call origination, length, and time of call.” In other words, CDC encompasses the information collected by the pen register and/or trap and trace device. Because CDC is nothing more than pen register and trap and trace data, there is no Fourth Amendment “expectation of privacy.” See Smith v. Maryland, 442 U.S. 735, 743-44 (1979). Further, pen registers and trap UNITED STATES v. REED 10185 and trace devices and data are regulated by 18 U.S.C. §§ 3121-3127, which contain no requirement that such data be sealed. Appellants argue that, because CDC was part of the data stream collected in real time by the Government in connection with the wiretap, it falls within the provisions of § 2518(8) and failure to seal the CDC data requires suppression. We disagree. To determine whether § 2518(8)(a) requires CDC data to be sealed, we begin with the plain language of the wiretap statute. See United States v. Rosales, 516 F.3d 749, 758 (9th Cir. 2008) (“Statutory interpretation begins with the plain language of the statute.”) (citation and alteration omitted). The statute provides, in relevant part: The contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication intercepted . . . shall, if possible, be recorded on tape or wire or other comparable device. The recording of the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication under this subsection shall be done in such a way as will protect the recording from editing or other alterations. Immediately upon the expiration of the period of the order, . . . such recordings shall be made available to the judge issu- ing such order and sealed under his directions. § 2518(8). [13] The plain language of this recordation and sealing requirement applies only to the “contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication intercepted . . .” § 2518(8) (emphasis added). As defined in 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510(1)-(2), a wire or oral communication is an “aural communication” made by aid of a wire, or an “oral communication” uttered by a person. 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510(1)-(2).9 CDC clearly does not fall within this 9 Section 2510 defines “wire communication” as “any aural transfer made in whole or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission 10186 UNITED STATES v. REED definition, because it is not an aural communication of any kind. [14] Appellant Johnson argues that CDC must be sealed, however, because it is an “electronic communication,” which is defined as: any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photooptical system that affects interstate or foreign commerce . . . . 18 U.S.C. § 2510(12). Even if CDC data could be considered an “electronic communication,” the failure to seal the data would not require suppression. Suppression for violation of the statute is permitted only for “wire or oral communications.” Section 2518(10)(a) provides: Any aggrieved person . . . may move to suppress the contents of any wire or oral communication inter- cepted . . . or evidence derived therefrom, on the grounds that— (i) the communication was unlawfully intercepted; (ii) the order of authorization or approval under which it was intercepted is insufficient on its face; or of communications by the aid of wire, cable, or other like connection between the point of origin and the point of reception . . .” 18 U.S.C. § 2510(1). An “ ‘oral communication’ means any oral communication uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying such expectation, but such term does not include any electronic communication[.]” Id. at § 2510(2). UNITED STATES v. REED 10187 (iii) the interception was not made in conformity with the order of authorization or approval. § 2518(10)(a) (emphasis added). As discussed above, CDC is clearly not a “wire or oral communication” and therefore suppression is not permitted by the statute. The statute further states that “[t]he remedies and sanctions described in this chapter with respect to the interception of electronic communications are the only judicial remedies and sanctions for nonconstitutional violations of this chapter involving such communications.” § 2518(10)(c). Because sealing is not a constitutional requirement, there is no statutory remedy of suppression for interceptions of “electronic communications.” See United States v. Meriwether, 917 F.2d 955, 960 (6th Cir. 1990) (citing § 2518(10)(c)). Accordingly, even if we accepted Johnson’s argument that the CDC data stream was an electronic communication, the district court did not err in denying the motion to suppress for failure to seal the CDC data. Nonetheless, as discussed below, we conclude that CDC is not an electronic communication that must be sealed under § 2518(8). CDC is undoubtedly data, and in this case the data was compiled in real time by the telephone company and transferred to the federal agents monitoring the wiretap via wire. Therefore, in the abstract, CDC appears to satisfy the definition of an electronic communication. However, to determine whether CDC is subject to the sealing requirement, we must construe this provision in the context of the legislative scheme regulating wiretaps. See United States v. Atlantic Research Corp., 551 U.S. 128, 127 S. Ct. 2331, 2336 (2007) (“Statutes must ‘be read as a whole.’ ”). The wiretap statute generally protects the parties to a communication against the unlawful interception, use, and disclosure of that communication by persons who are not parties to the communication. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 2511 & 2512. For example, only an “aggrieved person” may move to suppress 10188 UNITED STATES v. REED the contents of an unlawfully intercepted communication. § 2518(10). An “aggrieved person” is defined to be any “person who was a party to any intercepted wire, oral, or electronic communication or a person against whom the interception was directed.” 18 U.S.C. § 2510(11) (emphasis added). Applications for an order authorizing a wiretap also focus on the interception10 of communications made by individuals in the commission of a criminal act. See § 2518(1). Further, the sealing requirement applies only to the “contents” of an intercepted communication that can be recorded. § 2518(8).11 From these provisions, it becomes clear that the sealing and recordation requirements of § 2518(8) apply only to (1) the contents of (2) a wire, oral, or electronic communication (3) that is transmitted between the parties to that communication (4) and intercepted by the Government, and then (5) only when the contents of the communication are able to be recorded. [15] The record shows that CDC data is not transmitted to or received by the parties to a telephone call. Rather, it is data that is incidental to the use of a communication device and contains no “content” or information that the parties intended to communicate. It is data collected by the telephone company about the source, destination, duration, and time of a call. In other words, CDC is not a communication under § 2518, because it is not communicated to or from the parties to the telephone call. 10 Within the context of the wiretap statute, an “intercept” means “the aural or other acquisition of the contents of any wire, electronic, or oral communication through the use of any electronic, mechanical, or other device.” 18 U.S.C. § 2510(4). 11 As defined in the wiretap statute, “ ‘contents’ when used with respect to any wire, oral, or electronic communication, includes any information concerning the substance, purport, or meaning of that communication.” 18 U.S.C. § 2510(8). UNITED STATES v. REED 10189 [16] To the extent that CDC is a communication of any sort, it becomes such only when the telephone company transmits it to law enforcement. In that context, it is a communication of telephone company records from the telephone company to law enforcement, and therefore not intercepted.12 Even though law enforcement may receive CDC by way of a transfer of data over a wire, CDC is not an intercepted “electronic communication” subject to the sealing requirements. To the extent that the CDC data in this case might be viewed as “intercepted,” because it was received by law enforcement in real time in conjunction with their intercept of telephone calls on TT10, CDC still need not be sealed. The CDC contains no “content” from the intercepted telephone calls. Only the “content” of the communication need be sealed, § 2518(8), and CDC (unlike CCC) contains no “information concerning the substance, purport, or meaning of [the] communication.” See § 2510(8) (defining “contents”). [17] Because CDC is not an intercepted communication of any sort and does not contain the content of an intercepted wire, oral or electronic communication, we hold that it is not subject to the recordation and sealing requirements of § 2518(8).13 We also note that suppression in this case would 12 Our conclusion is also supported by the legislative history of the wiretap statute. The 1968 Senate Report expressly provides, “An examination of telephone company records by law enforcement agents in the regular course of their duties would be lawful because it would not be an ‘interception.’ The proposed legislation is intended to protect the privacy of the communication itself and not the means of communication.” S. Rep. No. 1097, 90th Cong., 2d Sess., 1968 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 2178 (citing United States v. Russo, 250 F. Supp. 55 (E.D. Pa. 1966)). 13 Although we hold that law enforcement need not seal CDC data, nothing in our opinion should be construed as relieving the Government of its responsibility to preserve, produce, disclose, and/or present for inspection any evidence within its care and custody. See, e.g., Fed. R. Crim. P. 16 (prescribing the government’s discovery and disclosure obligations); Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87 (1963) (government must disclose favorable evidence that is material either to guilt or to punishment). 10190 UNITED STATES v. REED not be warranted, because the Government acted in good faith. See United States v. Butz, 982 F.2d 1378, 1383 (9th Cir. 1993) (wiretap evidence should not be suppressed where officers relied in good faith on then-existing law in obtaining pen registers). Here, the district court found that the Government relied in good faith on its interpretation of the law in not sealing CDC data. This finding is not clearly erroneous. F. The District Court Did Not Err in Finding That the Wiretap Was Supervised by Authorized Federal Agents. We also reject Appellants’ argument that the district court should have suppressed the wiretap evidence, because (1) a sign-in sheet in the wiretap room was not properly maintained and (2) at least one federal agent entered the wiretap room without having signed a memorandum prepared by the supervising Assistant U.S. Attorney. Section 2518(5) requires that a wiretap must be conducted under the supervision of an authorized law enforcement officer. It provides, in relevant part: An interception . . . may be conducted in whole or in part by Government personnel, or by an individual Further, while the government does not have “an undifferentiated and absolute duty to retain and to preserve all material that might be of conceivable evidentiary significance in a particular prosecution,” Arizona v. Youngblood, 488 U.S. 51, 58 (1988), the government must always act in good faith to preserve relevant and material evidence, particularly if that evidence has apparent exculpatory value and where a defendant “would be unable to obtain comparable evidence by other reasonably available means,” California v. Trombetta, 467 U.S. 479, 489 (1984); see also United States v. Artero, 121 F.3d 1256, 1259-60 (9th Cir. 1997). In this case, the district court found that the Government acted in good faith and provided Appellants with all CDC data that the Government was able to collect. These findings are not clearly erroneous. UNITED STATES v. REED 10191 operating under a contract with the Government, acting under the supervision of an investigative or law enforcement officer authorized to conduct the interception. § 2518(5). Appellants argue that, because sign-in sheets and work schedules were not available to corroborate that contract personnel were properly monitored, the Government failed to comply with § 2518(5). Further, Appellants argue that one federal agent, Michelle Starkey, was present on several occasions in the monitoring room, but was not authorized to be present, because she had not signed a memorandum (outlining wiretap procedures) prepared by the supervising Assistant U.S. Attorney. These arguments are not persuasive. [18] Section 2518(5) does not require the government to follow any specific protocol to properly supervise a wiretap. The Government presented evidence that “[a]t all times while wiretap interception was being conducted, contract personnel were being supervised by one or more government personnel.” Agent Starkey’s mere presence, even if not authorized by internal procedures, does not violate the requirements of § 2518(5), because authorized agents supervised her.14 As the district court noted, an isolated failure to follow internal procedures does not amount to a failure to abide by the requirements of the statute. Therefore, we affirm the district court’s findings that the wiretap was properly supervised in compliance with the statute. 14 Even if an isolated violation of agency policy amounted to a violation of the statute, it is not clear that Agent Starkey’s presence caused any substantive failures to properly monitor the wiretap. Likewise, Appellants have not shown any non-speculative prejudice resulting from Agent Starkey’s presence. 10192 UNITED STATES v. REED