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Katz v. United States - Significance, The Pros And Cons Of Wiretapping

york petitioner evidence court

Petitioner

Charles Katz

Respondent

United States

Petitioner's Claim

That evidence obtained by a wiretap on a public phone violated the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable search and seizure and should have been ruled inadmissible.

Chief Lawyers for Petitioner

Harvey A. Schneider and Burton Marks

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

John S. Martin, Jr.

Justices for the Court

William J. Brennan, Jr., William O. Douglas, Abe Fortas, John Marshall Harlan II, Thurgood Marshall, Potter Stewart (writing for the Court), Earl Warren, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

Hugo Lafayette Black

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

17 October 1967

Decision

Placing a wiretap on a public phone violates the Fourth Amendment.

Related Cases

  • Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928).
  • Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89 (1964).
  • United States v. U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, 407 U.S. 297 (1972).
  • Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753 (1979).
  • California v. Ciraolo, 476 U.S. 207 (1986).
  • California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35 (1988).

Sources

Levy, Leonard W., ed. Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. New York: Macmillan, 1986.

Further Readings

  • Ferguson, Robert W. Legal Aspects of Evidence. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978.
  • Friedman, Phillip. Inadmissible Evidence. New York: Ivy Books, 1993.
  • Landynski, Jacob W. The Living U.S. Constitution. New York: New American Library, 1983.

Additional Topics

Katz v. United States - Significance

Investigations to obtain information about a suspect's private activities, even if those activities are conducted in public places or are obtained via electronic media or means, are subject to the same standards of judicial process as searches of a suspect's private property. Charles Katz was convicted of transmitting gambling information by telephone from Los Angeles, California to Miami, Florida…

Katz v. United States - The Pros And Cons Of Wiretapping

In 1928, the Supreme Court in Olmstead v. United States ruled that neither the Fourth nor the Fifth Amendments prevented law-enforcement authorities from conducting wiretapping of a criminal suspect. But with Katz, the Court found within the Fourth Amendment grounds for an expectation of privacy. These two decisions suggest the polarities surrounding wiretapping, and indeed any number of other con…

Katzenbach v. McClung - Significance, Further Readings [next] [back] Kastigar v. United States - Case Background, How Comprehensive Must The Offered Immunity Be?

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Amy

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over 4 years ago

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Courtney