18 U.S.C. § 3125 — Emergency pen register and trap and trace device installation

submitted 38 years ago by Pub. L. 100-690 to r/title-18-CRIMES-AND-CRIMINAL-PROCEDURE · 357 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

In an emergency, senior officials can approve a pen register or trap-and-trace device before a court order. That's allowed for threats like death, organized crime, national security, or an ongoing computer attack. A court must approve the device within forty-eight hours, or its use must stop.

(a) Certain Justice Department officials, or a state's top prosecutor acting under state law, can authorize an emergency pen register or trap and trace device. This is allowed only during an emergency. That includes immediate danger of death or serious injury, organized crime activity, a national security threat, or an ongoing attack on a protected computer. It's also allowed only if getting a court order first isn't practical, and if grounds for such an order actually exist. Officers may install and use the device right away, but a court must approve it within forty-eight hours. (b) If no court order is ever obtained, use of the device must stop right away. It must stop once the sought information is found, once a judge denies the application, or once forty-eight hours pass, whichever happens first. (c) It's a violation of this chapter to knowingly install or use such a device without applying for court approval within forty-eight hours. (d) A phone or internet provider, landlord, or other party who helps install the device must be fairly paid for reasonable expenses.

facts

- Codified at 18 U.S.C. § 3125, titled "Emergency pen register and trap and trace device installation," within the federal criminal code chapter governing pen registers and trap and trace devices. - Enacted by Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, § 7092(a)(2), on November 18, 1988 (102 Stat. 4410). - Comprises 357 words across four subsections (a)–(d), addressing emergency installation, termination conditions, violations, and compensation for service providers. - Amended four times after enactment, by Pub. L. 103–322 (1994), Pub. L. 104–294 (1996), and Pub. L. 107–296 (2002, later renumbered by Pub. L. 115–278 in 2018), totaling 5 source-credit references.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any investigative or law enforcement officer, specially designated by the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, the Associate Attorney General, any Assistant Attorney General, any acting Assistant Attorney General, or any Deputy Assistant Attorney General, or by the principal prosecuting attorney of any State or subdivision thereof acting pursuant to a statute of that State, who reasonably determines that—

(1)

an emergency situation exists that involves—

(A)

immediate danger of death or serious bodily injury to any person;

(B)

conspiratorial activities characteristic of organized crime;

(C)

an immediate threat to a national security interest; or

(D)

an ongoing attack on a protected computer (as defined in section 1030) that constitutes a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment greater than one year;

that requires the installation and use of a pen register or a trap and trace device before an order authorizing such installation and use can, with due diligence, be obtained, and

(2)

there are grounds upon which an order could be entered under this chapter to authorize such installation and use;

may have installed and use a pen register or trap and trace device if, within forty-eight hours after the installation has occurred, or begins to occur, an order approving the installation or use is issued in accordance with section 3123 of this title.

(b)

In the absence of an authorizing order, such use shall immediately terminate when the information sought is obtained, when the application for the order is denied or when forty-eight hours have lapsed since the installation of the pen register or trap and trace device, whichever is earlier.

(c)

The knowing installation or use by any investigative or law enforcement officer of a pen register or trap and trace device pursuant to subsection (a) without application for the authorizing order within forty-eight hours of the installation shall constitute a violation of this chapter.

(d)

A provider of a wire or electronic service, landlord, custodian, or other person who furnished facilities or technical assistance pursuant to this section shall be reasonably compensated for such reasonable expenses incurred in providing such facilities and assistance.

Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 100–690, title VII, § 7092(a)(2), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4410; amended Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330008(3), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2142; Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, § 601(f)(5), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3499; Pub. L. 107–296, title XXII, § 2207(i), formerly title II, § 225(i), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2158, renumbered § 2207(i), Pub. L. 115–278, § 2(g)(2)(I), Nov. 16, 2018, 132 Stat. 4178.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1988Enacted · Pub. L. 100-690 · 102 Stat. 4410
1994Amended · Pub. L. 103-322 · 108 Stat. 2142
1996Amended · Pub. L. 104-294 · 110 Stat. 3499
2002Amended · Pub. L. 107-296 · 116 Stat. 2158

The record shows that 18 U.S.C. § 3125 was added by Public Law 100–690, title VII, § 7092(a)(2), enacted November 18, 1988, and appearing at 102 Stat. 4410. According to the source credit, the section has since been amended four times: by Public Law 103–322 (1994), Public Law 104–294 (1996), and Public Law 107–296 (2002), the last of which was later renumbered by Public Law 115–278 (2018). The source credit does not describe the substance of these amendments beyond their citations. Public Law 100–690 is commonly known as the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, a broad piece of legislation enacted during a period of heightened congressional attention to narcotics enforcement and organized crime. The Act is generally understood to have expanded federal law enforcement authority across a range of areas, including surveillance tools used in criminal investigations. Section 3125 fits within this broader chapter of the U.S. Code governing pen registers and trap and trace devices, provisions intended to regulate the circumstances under which law enforcement may capture non-content communications data. Beyond this general context, the record does not establish the specific legislative purpose behind the emergency-authorization mechanism created in this particular section, nor does it document the reasoning behind the later amendments reflected in the source credit, including the 2002 renumbering connected to post-9/11 legislative reorganization. Any more particular account of congressional intent would go beyond what the available record supports.

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