ComputerWorld June 14, 1993 Volume 27, Number 24 pages 73,74

However, a summary of some of those wiretaps, provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, might cause even the most wary to warm up a little closer to Clipper:

* A wiretap led to the arrest and conviction of a "sexually deviant serial murderer" who had operated in New Jersey and New Mexico.

As an individual, who would he be talking to via Clipper? His victims? Not bloody likely. High-tech protection doesn't fall under the MO of this kind of killer.

* Another wiretap enabled authorities to thwart Chicago's "El Rukns street gang" from a Libyan government-sponsored attempt to shoot down a U.S. commercial airliner with a military weapons system.

They find these all the time through other mechanisms.

* The entire leadership of the Mafia's Colombo family was convicted with the help of wiretaps.

Legalize drugs and prostitution and the Mafia will dry up and blow away. Besides, these guys have enough money to have purchased and used private scrambling gear anyway; the fact that they haven't (leading to their capture) leads one to believe they wouldn't use Clipper anyway. If the current leadership is smarter, they'll be smart enough to use non-Clipper gear anyway, eliminating the advantage Clipper gives to the Justice Dept.

Hellman has an ingenious idea that might appeal to those concerned about civil liberties. He would require not one but three judges to authorize a Clipper wiretap. A judge could answer the request with "Yes," "No or "Oh, my God!" The latter means, "This looks like an attempted abuse of power, as in Watergate."

If a Clipper tap request got even one "Oh, my God!" decision, the target of the wiretap would be notified. Because that is the last thing the requestor would want, it would serve as a powerful check on frivolous or improper requests.

I gotta admit that I kinda like this. I should point out, though, that it ought to be applied regardless of the wiretapping technology applied; that is, this mechanism should be used today for all court-authorized wiretaps.