Declan, I ignored the first two points because I don't think they're that important. These "warrantless searches" are emergency orders that have to be followed by a court order in 48 hours. Sometimes courts are closed and the cops need data right away. Tuesday evening would be a good example. This is not some out-of-control police authority. The people who can ask for emergency orders have to be designated by one of several officials at Main Justice. That's to make sure someone responsible ends up with the authority to declare an emergency. So an assistant US attorney could be designated by Main Justice in each district right now. What's the big deal with letting the US Attorney for the district do the designating instead of Main Justice? Seems to me that the US Attorney probably knows more about staff changeovers than Main Justice, so it makes sense for the US Attorney to do the designating locally. Stewart **********