Opinion ID: 506589
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sealing Requirements

Text: 85 The question of whether and under what circumstances the government may unseal tape recordings previously sealed pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2518(8)(a) is one of first impression for us, and it has not, to our knowledge, been addressed by any other circuit. 86 Section 2518(8)(a) provides, in pertinent part, as follows: 87 The recording of the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication under this subsection shall be done in such way as will protect the recording from editing or other alterations. Immediately upon the expiration of the period of the order, or extensions thereof, such recordings shall be made available to the judge issuing such order and sealed under his directions. Custody of the recordings shall be wherever the judge orders.... The presence of the seal provided for by this subsection, or a satisfactory explanation for the absence thereof, shall be a prerequisite for the use or disclosure of the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication or evidence derived therefrom under subsection (3) of section 2517. 28 88 We recently addressed, in United States v. Mora, 821 F.2d 860 (1st Cir.1987), the issue of whether section 2518(8)(a) mandated the suppression of intercepted conversations when the government failed immediately to place original tapes under judicial seal after the expiration of the period for authorized surveillance. We concluded that section 2518(8)(a) contained its own exclusionary rule, and if the government failed to comply with the sealing requirements of that section, surveillance evidence would have to be suppressed unless the government proved by clear and convincing evidence that there was a satisfactory explanation for its failure immediately to seal. Id. at 866-68. Recognizing that the essential purpose of this section is to protect the authenticity and accuracy of the recordings, we held that the government's first task in establishing a satisfactory explanation would be to prove that the integrity of the tapes had not been compromised. Id. at 867. If it met that burden, the government would then be required to show that its delay in sealing came about in good faith and that such delay did not prejudice the accused or provide the prosecution with a tactical advantage. Id. at 868-69. 89 The district court's decision not to suppress the tapes in the case at bar was made prior to our decision in Mora. The court concluded, in any event, that cases from other circuits addressing the problem of delays in sealing were inapplicable to the question of whether a judicial order allowing unsealing was proper. United States v. Gambale, 610 F.Supp. at 1526. It held that Congress simply failed to address the question of unsealing, and that courts have inherent authority to order unsealing of tapes previously sealed upon a showing of good cause. Id. The district court therefore rejected the defendants' position that the statute automatically required suppression of the tapes because of the government's unsealing. 90 We agree that the defendants' argument for automatic suppression of unsealed tapes is untenable. While such unsealing should never be allowed as a matter of course, courts should have the discretion to order temporary unsealing, as the district court concluded, for good cause shown. 29 On the other hand, defendants are not without protection in the unsealing context; we think that the standards applicable in delay-of-sealing cases, like Mora, are relevant to the unsealing problem. 91 The court's order allowing the government to unseal the original tapes and transport them to Washington, D.C. for enhancement outside the presence of any judicial officer created a risk that the original tapes could be altered or tampered with. We agree with the district court's apparent reasoning, see 610 F.Supp. at 1526, that there was perhaps some moral deterrent to the agents' alteration of the tapes since the government's unsealing and transportation of the tapes was prescribed by court order. But that does not eliminate the risk of alteration addressed by section 2518(8)(a). 92 In cases involving unsealing of tapes, there would seem to be no less of a risk of frustrating the purposes underlying section 2518(8)(a)--the assurance of the accuracy and genuineness of tape recordings--than in situations where the government fails immediately to place the original tapes under seal. To the extent that the procedures followed in sealing or unsealing compromise the integrity of tape recorded conversations, the congressional purposes underlying section 2518(8)(a) would be thwarted and suppression of that evidence would be called for. See United States v. Mora, 821 F.2d at 867. We therefore conclude that the guidelines set forth in Mora apply to cases involving the government's unsealing. 93 Accordingly, judicial orders authorizing the unsealing of tape recordings previously placed under judicial seal pursuant to section 2518(8)(a) should be granted only for good cause shown by the government. If the unsealing of such tapes is challenged in a motion to suppress, the government should be required to prove (1) that the unsealing and use of the tapes did not result in alterations or tampering and (2) that the circumstances necessitating unsealing were not manufactured for tactical gain and that the defendants will not be unduly prejudiced as a result of the unsealing. See United States v. Mora, 821 F.2d at 867-68. 94 In this case all standards have been met. First, the district court properly found that the government made a good cause showing for the temporary unsealing. United States v. Gambale, 610 F.Supp. at 1526. Second, although the court made no pretrial findings, the record shows that there was extensive examination and cross-examination of the agents involved in the custody and enhancing of the tapes while unsealed, and permits only the conclusion that the integrity of the tapes was not compromised. The chain of custody was clearly established, the extensive spatial security arrangements at the FBI headquarters, where the tapes were kept, were described, and agents Quinn and Ritenour, who were in charge of the custody and enhancement process, testified unequivocally that there were no unauthorized persons with access to the tapes, no tampering, no deletions, and no additions. 30 Third, we find no indication or suggestion of bad faith or of unnecessary delay in returning the tapes to the court after enhancement.