FC: Ninth Circuit OKs fax intercepts: "Police need latitude!"

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Tue Oct 15 2002 - 07:50:52 PDT

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    http://news.com.com/2100-1023-961955.html
    
       Appeals court OKs fax intercepts
       By Declan McCullagh 
       October 14, 2002, 11:08 AM PT
    
       FBI agents were not overzealous when conducting electronic
       surveillance against members of anti-government group the Montana
       Freemen, a federal appeals court has ruled.
       
       In what appears to be the first decision dealing with fax
       interception, a three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit Court of
       Appeals said on Friday that police did not violate federal wiretap
       laws when spying on the group, whose key members were convicted in
       1998 of bank fraud.
       
       Legal experts said the 3-0 ruling, a considerable victory for the
       government, reaffirms police abilities to seek court approval to snare
       e-mail--with little worries about running afoul of federal law.
       
       "Law enforcement is entitled to latitude to scrutinize messages by
       conspirators, because such messages may contain double meanings and
       implied purposes, or even be conveyed in secret code," the court wrote
       in a 22-page opinion. "We decline to adopt a rule that would require
       law enforcement to review conspirators' communications with a blind
       eye."
    
       [...]
    
    
    
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