Opinion ID: 430880
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Validity of the Authorization in These Cases

Text: 32 Our holding that the Massachusetts statute, ch. 272, Sec. 99 F(1), as interpreted and strengthened by Vitello, is consistent with Sec. 2516(2) does not dispose of this issue. 33 If the preferred practice, recommended by the Supreme Judicial Court, of the district attorney cosigning every application had been followed, there would be no questioning the sufficiency of his authorization. This is so because the document itself would contain the detailed considerations that are expected to underlie a knowledgeable authorization. The presumption of regularity would be at its strongest. A self-evidencing authorization signature on any application for an order approving the interception of a wire or oral communication, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2518(1), would be entitled to the greatest deference. United States v. Turner, 528 F.2d 143, 151 (9th Cir.1975) ([I]t is to be presumed that the officer has properly exercised the judgment called for by the statute when he affixes his signature to an order authorizing an application.) As a matter of common sense it seems to us to impose no real extra burden on a district attorney to affix his signature to an application that he has already considered in detail. 34 It is of course true that the lack of such a document and the presumption it would enjoy is not fatal to the government. The absence of a compelling signature on a critical document can be remedied by proof of actual authority. United States v. Chavez, 416 U.S. 562, 572-74, 94 S.Ct. 1849, 1854-55, 40 L.Ed.2d 380 (1974); United States v. Ivic, 700 F.2d 51 (2d Cir.1983); United States v. Scully, 546 F.2d 255 (9th Cir.1976); United States v. Falcone, 505 F.2d 478 (3d Cir.1974); United States v. Roberts, 477 F.2d 57 (7th Cir.1973). But litigation is invited. 35 In the instant case it seems to us that there must be further exploration in the district court of the existence and extent of authorizations specifically given by the district attorney. In the first place the letters of designation are identical letters, in skeletal form, and purport to authorize applications for renewal in a blanket, open-ended manner. 2 In the second place, although each of the five applications for renewal contains an averment by the assistant district attorney that he was authorized by the district attorney, there is no written evidence of each such authorization. There is merely the averment of the district attorney in his affidavit that any determination to expand the electronic surveillance or renew the order is made by me after a thorough review. 36 Although the authorization process portrayed in these documents may comply fully with the requirements of Title III, the district court did not make a particularistic inquiry into this matter in either the Claudius Smith or the Norman Amado cases. In the latter the affidavits and exhibits of District Attorney Flanagan and Assistant District Attorney Crossen were not relied on for decision and in the former such data were not introduced. In the Amado case, the affidavits and exhibits portray a process in which the district attorney was much more engaged in the essential decision making than was shown in the record in the Smith cases. It must be noted, however, that the filings in the Amado case came after the panel's decision in the Smith cases. We think that defendants should have some opportunity to test the sufficiency of the government's documentation and that the government should have an opportunity to try to remedy any perceived deficiency. We emphasize here what should be obvious, that the failure of the Massachusetts District Attorney to follow the cosigning recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Court in Vitello has necessitated a detailed factual inquiry by the district court. We hope that in the future this will not be necessary. 37 Should the court find that any interception was in fact not properly authorized, it should determine whether the admission of evidence therefrom requires setting aside any judgment of conviction and ordering a new trial for the individual or individuals affected. In such case the government could, if it wished, appeal. Should the court find no error requiring a new trial, it should file its findings of fact and conclusions of law, after which appeal if desired may follow in normal course. 38