Keystroke-monitoring in NJ Mob Case

[Greg Broiles]

On Tue, Dec 05, 2000 at 04:12:37PM -0500, David Lesher wrote:
> 
> re: the keystroke sniffer:
> 
> http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2000/12/04/front_page/JMOB04.htm
> 
> The FBI application is at:
>      http://www.epic.org/crypto/breakin/application.pdf
> 
> The court order is at:
>      http://www.epic.org/crypto/breakin/order.pdf

I poked around the EPIC site to see if I could find more about that 
case - didn't find anything, but I did run across a reference to a
9th Circuit opinion of some interest - it seems that some drug cops in
Las Vegas were engaging in illegal wiretaps, by modifying pen register
hardware so that it facilitated audiotaping without a warrant.

One of the cops mentioned this to a colleague, who talked to a supervsor,
who broke into one of the other cops' office, found equipment which 
appeared to be performing an illegal warrantless audio intercept - so
he then installed some illegal warrantless video recording equipment,
which recorded the first crooked cops' behavior. The video evidence 
was excluded by the 9th Circuit as having been recorded outside the
boundaries of Title III and the Fourth Amendment. 

It's online at <http://laws.findlaw.com/9th/2/923/665.html> if you
care to meditate a little on the old "quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"
question; or at 923 F.2d 665 for the old-fashioned. 

--
Greg Broiles gbroiles at netbox.com
PO Box 897
Oakland CA 94604