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SB 411: Expanding wiretaps

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Senate Bill 411 Wiretap law. Sen. Hershman.

Includes additional offenses as designated offenses for purposes of intercepting electronic communication. Currently the designated offenses for which the wiretap law under IC 35-33.5 apply are limited to felony controlled substance offenses. The proposed bill would add kidnapping, criminal confinement, robbery, arson, child solicitation, human and sexual trafficking crimes, and “escape” as a Class B or C felony.

Defines “electronic communication” to include any type of communication transmitted by a wire, a radio, or an electromagnetic, a photoelectronic or a photo-optical system, and replaces references to interception of a telephonic or telegraphic communication with references to the interception of electronic communication. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t the process by which an eye perceives, say, writing on paper qualify as a “photo-optical system”? I know they’re trying to keep up with technology, but it’s a tough thing to do. Technology is going to go all Neuromancer on them, and traditional lines are going to get blurrier and blurrier.

Permits the state police department to authorize a law enforcement agency that has requested the interception of electronic communication to operate or monitor equipment used to intercept electronic communication under the supervision of the state police department. Currently, only the State Police are permitted to perform the wiretap.

Permits a deputy prosecuting attorney to apply for the wiretap where under current law, only the Prosecutor may apply. Establishes a procedure to permit a warrant for the interception of electronic communication to be issued without a written affidavit if certain conditions are met.

[tags]SB411-2007, Big Brother[/tags]

Comments

  1. Branden Robinson says

    Doug,

    Permit me to elaborate on the quotation marks you put around the word “escape”. As the 7th Circuit Court of Appealsrecently noted, it’s incongruous, and perhaps insulting to crime victims, to lump this concept in with traditional crimes like kidnapping and arson.

    United States v. Deondery Chambers, No. 06-2405 (January 9, 2007): Mr. Chambers was sentenced as an armed career criminal. One of his three crimes of violence was a state conviction for escape from a penal institution. His escape was not of the “Escape from Alcatraz” variety; instead, he merely failed to report on time to begin serving a sentence. Under 18 U.S.C. sec. 924(e), a felony is violent if it “involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” Under the law of the Circuit, escape always meets this definition. See United States v. Golden, 466 F.3d 612 (7th Cir. 2006).

    For that reason, the Court affirmed the sentence. But the panel expressed serious misgivings about this position. “We shall adhere to the precedents for now. But it is an embarrassment to the law when judges base decisions of consequence on conjectures, in this case a conjecture as to the possible danger of physical injury posed by criminals who fail to show up to begin serving their sentences . . .” The Court suggested that Congress, the Sentencing Commission, or academics ought to gather information on the incidence of violence presented by escapes that involve no more than the failure to report as directed.

    (source: Seventh Circuit Blog)

    So, when some poor kid is sentenced to 18 months in prison for possession of pot, when the slacker is late showing up because he was playing World of Warcraft, we can slap him with a wiretapping offense á la the Watergate Seven.

    Hell, let’s charge him with cruelty to animals, too. We’ve got to send a message.

    Sen. Hershman: BAD, LAME

    Reply

  2. Idunno says

    I generally think of the monikers “bad” or “lame” when discussing Senator Hershman’s actions. Hm…. will the wiretaps be used to make sure that consenting gay or lesbian folks don’t discuss having children, getting married or even protecting their families in health or inheritance situations?

    I wonder how that Telecom bill he pushed last session works into this.

    Reply

  3. Branden Robinson says

    Interesting. I didn’t know the following about Sen. Hershman:

    The former wife of Republican State Senate candidate Brandt Hershman said Monday that his pro-life positions and endorsement by Indiana Right to Life do not conform with his personal beliefs. Tracy Johnson Hershman said when she became pregnant in early 1997, Hershman asked her to have an abortion. On May 30, 1997, she claims he drove her to the Planned Parenthood clinic in Merrillville where he paid for her to abort their child. Hershman asked her for a divorce a week later, she said.

    “This is about somebody who really isn’t who he says he is,” said Johnson Hershman, a former Valparaiso Vidette-Messenger reporter who now resides in Michigan City.

    (source: Logansport Pharos-Tribune via Bilerico)

    Reply

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