Court Opinion

ID: 9862660
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-25 01:43:02.748797+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:30:31.282380
License: Public Domain

POLLOCK, J.,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
This case requires the Court to decide whether tapes of intercepted telephone conversations seized by federal enforcement officials in compliance with The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-21 (1970 & 1989 supp.) (the Federal Wiretap Act), are admissible in a New Jersey state proceeding when the federal agents did not comply with the requirements of the New Jersey Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act, N.J.S.A. 2A-.156A-1 to -26 (the Act). The majority implicitly recognizes that it would be possible to interpret the New Jersey law as meaning that evidence independently obtained by federal agents according to federal standards, but in violation of State standards, is inadmissible in State courts. Ante at 276-77. It finds, however, that the Legislature did not intend to have the Act apply to federal officers acting in conformity with federal standards solely because “the act’s requirement for prosecutorial concurrence does not extend by its language to the federal agent.” Ante at 278. Thus, the Court concludes that neither “the act’s automatic-exclusion provisions * * * [n]or * * * the [act’s] dis*286closure provisions” applies to federal officers. Ante at 278. The Court, however, remands “for determination of whether this was a joint undertaking sufficiently implicating the purposes of the New Jersey Wiretap Law and the privacy interests of its citizens such that the evidence should be suppressed.” Ante at 285.
I agree with the majority to the extent it holds that the tapes of the intercepted telephone messages may be excluded from admission into evidence in the courts of this State if State and federal officials were acting in cooperation when the federal officials tapped defendant’s telephone. I also agree that the Legislature could adopt legislation precluding the admission of wiretap evidence when it is obtained by federal officials acting alone and subsequently turned over to State officials. Ante at 276. My initial difference with the majority is that I believe the Legislature has already taken the necessary action to preclude the use of such evidence. Although I recognize that the Act does not expressly apply to federal officials, a fair reading of its provisions and legislative history leads me to conclude that the Legislature intended it to preclude the admission in the courts of this State of illegally-seized wiretap evidence whether that evidence was seized by State or federal officials.
In ascertaining whether the Legislature intended that result, one cannot ignore the breadth of the prohibition in N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-3, which makes unlawful all wiretaps unless “specifically” permitted by that section. N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-3 provides:
Except as otherwise specifically provided in this act, any person who:
a. Willfully intercepts, endeavors to intercept, or procures any other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept any wire or oral communication; or
b. Willfully discloses or endeavors to disclose to any other person the contents of any wire or oral communication, or evidence derived therefrom, knowing or having reason to know that the information was obtained through the interception of a wire or oral communication; or
c. Willfully uses or endeavors to use the contents of any wire or oral communication, or evidence derived therefrom, knowing or having reason to know, that the information was obtained through the interception of a wire or oral communication;
*287shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than $10,000.00 or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. Subsections b and c of this section shall not apply to the contents of any wire or oral communication, or evidence derived therefrom, that has become common knowledge or public information.
The definition section of the Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-2, defines “person” by reference to the definition in N.J.S.A. 1:1-2, which states that the term applies to “individuals.” I believe that for the purposes of the Act the term “individual” includes federal officials.
Given that federal officers are “persons,” a fair reading of N.J.S.A. 2A.T56A-3 implies that the Legislature intended the Act to apply when wiretap evidence obtained by those officials is offered as evidence in a State court proceeding. Other courts have reached the same result when interpreting similar language in their wiretap statutes. People v. Jones, 30 Cal.App.3d 852, 106 Cal.Rptr. 749, appeal dismissed, 414 U.S. 804, 94 S.Ct. 163, 38 L.Ed.2d 40 (1973) (interpreting “any person” in state wiretap statute to apply to federal law-enforcement agents); People v. Williams, 94 Wash.2d 531, 539-42, 617 P.2d 1012, 1017-18 (1980) (rejecting argument that federal agents should be excluded from operation of state wiretap act because it specifically stated that it applied to “the State of Washington, its agencies, and subdivisions,” but not to the federal government). For today’s purposes, we need not determine whether the Act is invalid because it might possibly result in the imposition of criminal liability on federal officials. Given the importance assigned by the Legislature to the right of privacy, we should not reach for that issue until it is presented. As today’s opinions indicate, the Court is sharply divided on the exclusion from State courts of wiretap evidence seized by federal officials in violation of State law. That issue, together with the Court’s concern about the possible criminal liability of federal officials, suggests that it might be appropriate for the Legislature to consider clarifying amendments to the Act.
Furthermore, I believe that wiretaps by the federal officers do not fit within one of the exceptions “specifically provided in *288[the] [A]ct.” N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-3. Those exceptions are listed in N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-4, which provides in relevant part:
It shall not be unlawful under this act for:
********
c. Any person acting at the direction of an investigative or law enforcement officer to intercept a wire or oral communication, where such person is a party to the communication or one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to such interception; provided, however, that no such interception shall be made unless the Attorney General or his designee or a county prosecutor within his authority determines that there exists a reasonable suspicion that evidence of criminal conduct will be derived from such interception ' * *.
An “investigative or law enforcement officer” is defined in N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-2f as “any officer of the State of New Jersey or of a political subdivision thereof.” Although federal agents are omitted from the definition, that omission can hardly be construed as authorizing federal agents to provide wiretap evidence to New Jersey law-enforcement officials in violation of the Act. In the present case, moreover, the federal officials did not obtain prior approval of the Attorney General or a county prosecutor. Of course, no such authorization need be obtained for the admission of evidence into the federal court. It is only when the seized evidence is to be introduced into the courts of this State that the provisions of the Act are triggered. Thus, the majority misses the mark when it states, “[b]ut New Jersey cannot make illegal what federal law makes legal for federal agents.” Ante at 278.
Specific provisions of the Act govern the disclosure and exchange of wiretap information between federal and state law-enforcement officials. N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-17a provides:
Any investigative or law enforcement officer or other person who, by any means authorized by this act, has obtained knowledge of the contents of any wire or oral communication, or evidence derived therefrom, may disclose or use such contents or evidence to investigative or law enforcement officers of this or another state, any of its political subdivisions, or of the United States to the extent that such disclosure or use is appropriate to the proper performance of his official duties. [Emphasis added.]
As originally enacted, the statute did not contain the phrase “or other person.” This omission, combined with the definition of “law enforcement officer,” which was restricted to State and *289local law-enforcement officers, inadvertently led to the result that the statute governed the exchange of information only between State law-enforcement officials and not between those officials and their federal counterparts. See Senate Judiciary Committee Statement, S. 1417 at 2 (May 19, 1975); Hyland & Martinez, The New Jersey Experience: Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance, 173 N.Y.L.J. 1 (1975). Consequently, N.J. S.A. 2A:156A-17a was amended in 1975, when the Act was reauthorized, to govern the exchange of wiretap evidence between State and federal law-enforcement officials. L.1975, c. 131, § 9 (eff. June 30, 1975). Consistent with that conclusion, the Court concedes that “[t]he legislative history [of this amendment] indicates a strong interest in protecting the privacy of individuals and controlling intrusive police activity.” Ante at 276. Notwithstanding that concession, the Court’s opinion remains a studied effort to undermine the privacy interest that the Legislature sought to protect.
When revising N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-17a, the Legislature chose not to follow the example of those states that expressly allow the admission in state court of evidence obtained by federal officers in conformity with federal law but contrary to state law. E.g., 18 Pa.Cons.Stat.Ann. § 5717(c) (Purdon 1983 & 1989 supp.); see Commonwealth v. Trignani, 334 Pa.Super 526, 530-32, 483 A.2d 862, 864 (1984). The disclosure section of the Pennsylvania statute, for example, allows
[a]ny person who, by any means authorized by the laws of another state or the Federal government, has obtained knowledge of the contents of any wire or oral communication, or evidence derived therefrom, may disclose such contents or evidence to any investigative or law enforcement officer. [18 Pa.Cons.Stat.Ann. § 5717(c) (emphasis added).]
If the New Jersey Legislature intended to allow wiretap evidence seized in this State by federal officers acting in conformity with federal law, it could have used language similar to that used in the Pennsylvania statute. Instead, the Legislature retained the provision that disclosure could occur only when the evidence was obtained “by any means authorized by this act.” N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-17a. In sum, the Act applies to “any per*290son,” including a federal officer, who makes a wiretap. N.J. S.A. 2A:156A-3. As indicated previously, the federal officers here did not obtain the approval of the Attorney General or the county prosecutor, as mandated by N.J.S.A. 2A-.156A-4. Consequently, the wiretaps were not obtained “by * * * means authorized by this act.” N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-17a.
Contrary to the assertion of the majority, ante at 278, the conduct of federal officers is not being regulated. Accord Jones, supra, 30 Cal.App.3d at 854, 106 Cal.Rptr. at 751; Williams, supra, 94 Wash.2d at 538-40, 617 P.2d at 1017. Application of the Act to determine admissibility of the evidence in state courts does not affect the admissibility of that evidence in federal courts. Exclusion of the evidence from a state court proceeding would do no more than protect the integrity of that proceeding from evidence obtained in violation of state law. That conclusion is consistent with the Federal Wiretap Act, which recognizes that states may accord greater protection to the right of privacy than is accorded under the Federal Wiretap Act.
The Federal Wiretap Act was a response to privacy concerns raised by the Supreme Court in Berger v. New York, 388 U.S. 41, 87 S.Ct. 1873, 18 L.Ed.2d 1040 (1972), and Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 88 S.Ct. 507, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1976). The federal statute was designed with three primary congressional goals: (1) to establish a standard of admissibility of wiretap evidence for federal court proceedings; (2) to set a nationwide minimum standard for infringements upon citizens’ privacy; and (3) to allow the states to create state statutory schemes more protective of their citizens’ privacy than the federal minimum standard. See 18 U.S.C. § 2516(2) (1970 & 1989 supp.); § 801, 11 (b), Pub.L. No. 90-351, 82 Stat. 211 (1968); S.Rep. No. 1097, 90th Cong., 2d Sess. (1968), reprinted in 2 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin. News 2112, 2153-57, 2187 (1968); United States v. Marion, 535 P.2d 697, 702 (2d Cir.1976); People v. Conklin, 12 Cal.3d 259, 266-73, 522 P.2d 1049, 1053-58, 114 Cal.Rptr. 241, 245-50 (1974), appeal dismissed, 419 U.S. 1065, *29195 S.Ct. 652, 42 L.Ed.2d 661 (1974); Commonwealth v. Vitello, 367 Mass. 224, 245-47, 327 N.E.2d 819, 832-34 (1975); State v. Catania, 85 N.J. 418, 436 (1981); State v. Barber, 169 N.J.Super. 26, 30 (1979); Williams, supra, 94 Wash.2d 531, 538-40, 617 P.2d 1012, 1017.
Congress did not intend to preempt more protective state requirements. See, e.g., Catania, supra, 85 N.J. at 436; Barber, supra, 169 N.J.Super. at 30; see Marion, supra, 535 F.2d at 702; Conklin, supra, 12 Cal.3d at 266-73, 522 P.2d at 1053-58, 114 Cal.Rptr. at 245-50; State v. Farha, 218 Kan. 394, 400, 544 P.2d 341, 348 (1975); Vitello, supra, 367 Mass. at 245-47, 327 N.E.2d at 832-34; Williams, supra, 94 Wash.2d at 538-40, 617 P.2d at 1017. Consequently, the application of more restrictive state standards is consistent with congressional intent in the Federal Wiretap Act. Williams, supra, 94 Wash.2d at 538-40, 617 P.2d at 1017.
Until today, the courts of this State have strictly construed the New Jersey Act to afford maximum safeguards for individual privacy. See, e.g., Catania, supra, 85 N.J. at 437; State v. Cerbo, 78 N.J. 595, 604 (1979); In re Wire Communication, 76 N.J. 255, 260 (1978); State v. Molinaro, 117 N.J.Super. 276 (Law Div.1971), rev’d on other grounds, 122 N.J.Super. 181 (App.Div.), certif. denied, 62 N.J. 574 (1973); State v. Sidoti, 116 N.J.Super. 70, 78 (Law Div.1971), rev’d on other grounds, 120 N.J.Super. 208 (App.Div.1972). Underlying the strict construction of the Act is the principle that it implicates “an intrusion into individual rights of privacy * * Catania, supra, 85 N.J. at 437. Exclusion of wiretap evidence seized by federal officers is consistent with the proper construction of the State and Federal Wiretap Acts. Implicit in the Court’s decision is a subtle shift away from strict construction of the Act, with a correlative diminution of the privacy rights of all citizens. Whatever merit lies in that approach, it is inconsistent with the intent of the Legislature and our prior construction of the Act.
*292This leads me to conclude that the exclusion from state court proceedings of wiretap evidence seized by federal officials in violation of the Act is consistent with the proper construction of the State and Federal Wiretap Acts. Concerned as the Legislature was with the protection of the right of privacy, ante at 276, I doubt that it would have enacted a law to protect that right against State, but not federal officials. It makes little difference to a person whose conversation is tapped that the tap was carried out by federal, rather than State officials. See Elkins v. United States, 364 U.S. 206, 215, 80 S.Ct. 1437, 1443, 4 L.Ed.2d 1669, 1676 (1960). Thus, I find it anomalous for the majority to exclude evidence obtained through an illegal tap when that tap is performed by state, as distinguished from federal officials.
When illegally-seized evidence is used in state court proceedings, the judicial integrity of those courts is offended as much when the evidence is seized by a federal official as when it is seized by a state official. Precluding the use in state courts of evidence seized illegally by federal officials would not disturb principles of federalism. Those officials could continue to use that evidence in federal courts, assuming the use is permissible under federal law. State v. Mollica, 114 N.J. 329 (1989), is not to the contrary. In Mollica, we carefully eschewed deciding whether telephone records seized by federal officials consistent with federal law, but in violation of state law, could be admitted in state court proceedings. What we so carefully avoided in Mollica, however, is needlessly legitimized in today’s decision. Under the majority’s interpretation of the Act, the Court need not decide whether evidence seized by federal officials in violation of state law may be admitted in state court proceedings.
The appropriate remedy under the Act is the exclusion of the evidence of the wiretap. N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-21; see Cerbo, supra, 78 N.J. at 603; State v. Novembrino, 105 N.J. 95, 172-73 (1987) (Handler, J., concurring). Consequently, I would reverse the defendant’s conviction,. suppress the wiretap evidence, and remand the matter to the Law Division.
*293For reversal and remandment — Chief Justice WILENTZ, and Justices HANDLER, O’HERN and GARIBALDI — 4.
Concurring in result — Justices CLIFFORD, POLLOCK and STEIN — 3.