Opinion ID: 568537
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Applicability of Title III to Interspousal Wiretaps

Text: 12 Appellant contends Title III does not apply to interspousal wiretaps 2 and thus the trial court erred in denying his motions to dismiss and for directed verdict. The district court's construction of a federal statute is a question of law that we review de novo. In re Thompson, 894 F.2d 1227, 1228 (10th Cir.1990). De novo review means we make an independent determination of the issues. United States v. Irvin, 906 F.2d 1424, 1426 (10th Cir.1990). 13 Whether Title III provides a remedy for interspousal wiretapping within the marital home is a question that has divided the federal courts of appeal. 3 The Fourth, Sixth and Eighth Circuits have held that such wiretapping is actionable under Title III. See Kempf v. Kempf, 868 F.2d 970, 973 (8th Cir.1989); Pritchard v. Pritchard, 732 F.2d 372, 374 (4th Cir.1984); United States v. Jones, 542 F.2d 661, 673 (6th Cir.1976). The Second and Fifth Circuits have held that Title III does not apply to interspousal wiretaps. See Anonymous v. Anonymous, 558 F.2d 677, 679 (2d Cir.1977); Simpson v. Simpson, 490 F.2d 803, 810 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 897, 95 S.Ct. 176, 42 L.Ed.2d 141 (1974). 14 After reviewing these authorities, and others, the district court below held that Title III, specifically 18 U.S.C. § 2520 thereof, does apply to interspousal wiretaps. See Heggy v. Heggy, 699 F.Supp. 1514, 1517 (W.D.Okla.1988). We agree with the district court, and join the majority of federal circuit courts in holding that Title III does provide a remedy for such wiretapping. We believe this conclusion is compelled first and foremost by the clear and unambiguous language of the statute. 15 At the time Tom placed the wiretap on the phone, Title III provided in relevant part: 16 (1) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter any person who-- 17 (a) willfully intercepts, endeavors to intercept, or procures any other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept, any wire, oral, or electronic communication; ... 18 (b) willfully uses, endeavors to use, or procures any other person to use or endeavor to use any electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept any oral communication ... 19 (c) willfully discloses, or endeavors to disclose, to any other person the contents of any wire or oral communication, knowing or having reason to know that the information was obtained through the interception of a wire or oral communication violation of this subsection; or 20 (d) willfully uses, or endeavors to use, the contents of any wire or oral communication, knowing or having reason to know that the information was obtained through the interception of a wire or oral communication in violation of this subsection; ... 21 shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five (5) years, or both. 18 U.S.C. § 2511(1) (emphasis added). 4 22 A civil cause of action for violation of § 2511 is provided by 18 U.S.C. § 2520 which, at the time the wiretapping in this case began, provided in part: 23 Any person whose wire or oral communication is intercepted, disclosed, or used in violation of this chapter shall (1) have a civil cause of action against any person who intercepts, discloses, or uses, or procures any other person to intercept, disclose or use such communications, and (2) be entitled to recover from any such person -- 24 (a) actual damages but not less than liquidated damages computed at the rate of $100 a day for each day of violation or $1,000, whichever is higher; 25 (b) punitive damages; and 26 (c) a reasonable attorney's fee and other litigation costs reasonably incurred. 18 U.S.C. § 2520 (emphasis added). 5 27 As would seem clear from the emphasized language, Tom's wiretapping of the household phone is proscribed, and Catherine's recovery is allowed, because § 2511(1) prohibits the interception, use or disclosure of wire communications by any person except as specifically provided in the statute. And, furthermore, § 2520 provides a cause of action to any person who is the victim of a § 2511 violation. The statute defines person as any individual, 18 U.S.C. § 2510(6), thus including Tom and Catherine. Finally, appellant makes no claim that any of the specific exceptions provided in 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2) are applicable. 28 Because the reach of the statute appears clear on its face, resort to legislative history would seem unnecessary. Appellant, however, urges the court to adopt the view in Simpson v. Simpson, 490 F.2d 803 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 897, 95 S.Ct. 176, 42 L.Ed.2d 141 (1974), where the Fifth Circuit carved out an exception for interspousal wiretapping because it could find no specific indication in the legislative history that Congress intended the statute to reach that far. The Simpson court reached this conclusion despite the frank recognition that the naked language of Title III covered interspousal wiretapping. Simpson, 490 F.2d at 805. 6 29 The Simpson court's approach to statutory construction has been criticized by courts and commentators. See, e.g., Kempf v. Kempf, 868 F.2d 970, 972-73 (8th Cir.1989); Kratz v. Kratz, 477 F.Supp. 463, 468-69 (E.D.Penn.1979); Comment, Wiretapping and the Modern Marriage: Does Title III Provide a Federal Remedy for Victims of Interspousal Electronic Surveillance? 91 Dick.L.Rev. 855, 872, 876 (1987) (hereinafter Wiretapping and Modern Marriage ). 30 We reject not only the Simpson court's method of statutory analysis but also its interpretation of the legislative history. 7 Instead, we agree with the district court that the legislative history of Title III evinces a congressional awareness of the widespread use of electronic eavesdropping in domestic relations cases and an intent to prohibit such eavesdropping. See Remarks of Sen. Long, Hearings on Invasions of Privacy Before the Subcomm. on Admin. Practice and Procedure of the Sen. Comm. on the Judiciary, 89th Cong. 1st Sess., part 5 at 2261 (1965-66) (The three large areas of snooping in this [non-governmental] field are (1) industrial (2) divorce cases, and (3) politics. So far, we have heard no real justification for continuance of snooping in these areas.). 31 Professor Robert Blakey, generally credited as the architect of Title III, testified that private bugging in this country can be divided into two broad categories, commercial espionage and marital litigation. Hearings on the Right to Privacy Act of 1967 Before the Subcomm. on Admin. Practice and Procedure of the Sen. Comm. on the Judiciary, 90th Cong., 1st Sess., part 2 at 413 (1967). Senator Hruska, a co-sponsor of the bill, commenting on the scope of the statute, noted that [a] broad prohibition is imposed on private use of electronic surveillance, particularly in domestic relations and industrial espionage situations. S.Rep. No. 1097, 90th Cong., 2d Sess., reprinted in 1968 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 2110, 2112, 2274. 32 Moreover, and in light of the split of judicial authority, had it been the intent of Congress to keep interspousal wiretapping beyond the reach of Title III, Congress could have expressly excluded such wiretapping when it overhauled Title III in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, Pub.L. No. 99-508, 100 Stat. 1848. Although the Privacy Act amendments touched nearly every section of Title III, Congress did not codify the judicially created exception for interspousal wiretapping found in Simpson. 33 Finally, we reject appellant's contention that interpreting Title III to reach interspousal wiretapping results in unwarranted federal intrusion into the law of domestic relations, a subject traditionally left to state regulation. As the court stated in Kratz v. Kratz, 477 F.Supp. 463, 476 (E.D.Penn.1979): 34 Title III regulates electronic eavesdropping, not marital relations. It proscribes one method of gathering evidence for use in, inter alia, domestic relations cases, but in no manner deals with the merits of such cases.... The evils of electronic surveillance are not peculiar to the marital relationship, and there is no more reason to permit husbands and wives to perpetrate these evils upon each other with impunity than there is to permit them legally to commit any other crimes against each other. 35 Kratz, 477 F.Supp. at 476. It is highly unlikely, as some courts have suggested, see Lizza v. Lizza, 631 F.Supp. 529, 533 (E.D.N.Y.1986), that applying Title III to interspousal wiretapping will result in increased federal regulation of domestic relations. Rather, the more likely result is a decrease in interspousal wiretapping. 8 See Wiretapping and Modern Marriage, 91 Dick.L.Rev. at 882-83. 36