Opinion ID: 553325
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Federal Court Order Requirement

Text: 20 Whether a federal court order is a prerequisite to the lawful interception of communications conducted on cellular telephones is subject to plenary review. See United States v. Alexander, 835 F.2d 1406 (11th Cir.1988) (application of law to facts upon review of denial of suppression motion subject to de novo review). 21 In 1968, Congress preempted the field of interception of wire and oral communications by enacting Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, Pub.L. 90-351, 82 Stat. 212 (1968) (codified at 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2510 et seq.). In 1986, Congress enacted the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, Pub.L. 99-508, 100 Stat. 1848 (1986) (ECPA). The ECPA amended Title III to protect cellular communications from interception without prior judicial approval. 22 A special rule accompanied the ECPA to afford those states with wiretap statutes an opportunity to conform to the amendments. Pub.L. 99-508, Sec. 111(b). The rule states that if a state-authorized interception would be valid without regard to the amendments, it would be deemed valid notwithstanding the amendments, if applied within two years of October 21, 1986, and if conducted pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2516(2). 1 Title 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2516(2) provides in relevant part: 23 The principal prosecuting attorney of any state ... if such attorney is authorized by a statute of that state to make application to a state court judge ... for an order authorizing or approving the interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications, may apply to such judge for ... an order authorizing, or approving the interception of wire or oral communications. 24 (West Supp.1990). 25 In 1987, Florida law did not explicitly provide for judicial authorization of the interception of cellular communications. 2 The appellants contend that the special rule providing for a two-year grace period for states whose statutes authorize such an interception, does not apply to the situation in Florida where the state law neither required nor authorized an interception order for cellular communications. The appellants conclude that the wiretap evidence is inadmissible because the law enforcement officers failed to first obtain a federal court order authorizing the interception of cellular telephone conversations as required by law. 26 The appellants erroneously presume that authorization for a mobile telephone wiretap could not have been sought from the state court because such interceptions could arguably have been accomplished prior to the enactment of the ECPA without any court order. The fact that mobile telephone interceptions might lawfully have been accomplished under Florida law without court order did not preclude the Metro-Dade officers from seeking judicial authorization for such surveillance. Indeed, in Dorsey v. State, the court explicitly declined to decide whether the interception of land-line telephone messages transmitted in part by wireless signals would require a wiretap order. 402 So.2d 1178, 1184 n. 4. By obtaining a state court order for the Plasencias' cellular telephone numbers, the police officers were attempting to ensure against any possible violation of Florida's wiretapping laws in the event a combination of cellular and wire transmissions was utilized during the course of an intercepted conversation. Thus, the cellular telephone wiretap was not outside the scope of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2516(2) and was authorized by federal law under the special rule found in Public Law 99-508, Sec. 111(b). 27 Moreover, even if the officers technically violated federal statutes by not applying for a federal court order, no prejudice resulted. The purpose of the federal legislation was to ensure that surveillance of cellular communications did not occur without following federally mandated procedures or certain prior state court procedures. In this case, the officers followed a state court procedure with virtually identical standards as those found in the federal procedure and any resulting error was harmless.