18 U.S.C. § 2513 — Confiscation of wire, oral, or electronic communication intercepting devices

submitted 58 years ago by Pub. L. 90-351 to r/title-18-CRIMES-AND-CRIMINAL-PROCEDURE · 229 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

This section lets the government seize illegal wiretapping devices. It can then forfeit them permanently through a legal process. The customs-forfeiture rules in title 19 apply to these seizures. They are adapted so the Attorney General's designated officers, not customs officials, handle them.

Any electronic, mechanical, or other device may be seized by the government. This applies to a device used, sent, carried, made, assembled, possessed, sold, or advertised in violation of section 2511 or section 2512. The government can then forfeit that device. Forfeiture means permanently taking it away through a legal process.

The customs laws in title 19 of the United States Code set out rules for seizing and forfeiting other property. That property includes vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage taken for customs violations. This section says those same customs-law rules apply here too. They apply to seizures and forfeitures of illegal interception devices under this section. That is true as long as those rules fit, and do not conflict with this section.

The customs rules that apply cover five things. First, seizing and forfeiting the property in court. Second, what happens to the property, or to money from selling it. Third, reducing or canceling a forfeiture. Fourth, settling claims. Fifth, paying rewards to people who report violations.

Normally, a customs officer called a "collector of customs" carries out these duties for customs violations. But for interception devices under this section, things work differently. Those duties are instead carried out by whoever the Attorney General authorizes or designates for that job. This could be an officer, an agent, or another type of person.

facts

- Located at 18 U.S.C. § 2513, titled "Confiscation of wire, oral, or electronic communication intercepting devices." - Enacted by Pub. L. 90-351, title III, § 802, on June 19, 1968 (82 Stat. 215). - Amended once by Pub. L. 99-508, title I, § 101(c)(1)(A), Oct. 21, 1986 (100 Stat. 1851). - The statutory text comprises 229 words. - Source credit reflects two legislative actions: the original enactment and one subsequent amendment.

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

Any electronic, mechanical, or other device used, sent, carried, manufactured, assembled, possessed, sold, or advertised in violation of section 2511 or section 2512 of this chapter may be seized and forfeited to the United States. All provisions of law relating to (1) the seizure, summary and judicial forfeiture, and condemnation of vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage for violations of the customs laws contained in title 19 of the United States Code, (2) the disposition of such vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage or the proceeds from the sale thereof, (3) the remission or mitigation of such forfeiture, (4) the compromise of claims, and (5) the award of compensation to informers in respect of such forfeitures, shall apply to seizures and forfeitures incurred, or alleged to have been incurred, under the provisions of this section, insofar as applicable and not inconsistent with the provisions of this section; except that such duties as are imposed upon the collector of customs or any other person with respect to the seizure and forfeiture of vessels, vehicles, merchandise, and baggage under the provisions of the customs laws contained in title 19 of the United States Code shall be performed with respect to seizure and forfeiture of electronic, mechanical, or other intercepting devices under this section by such officers, agents, or other persons as may be authorized or designated for that purpose by the Attorney General.

Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 90–351, title III, § 802, June 19, 1968, 82 Stat. 215; amended Pub. L. 99–508, title I, § 101(c)(1)(A), Oct. 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1851.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1968Enacted · Pub. L. 90-351 · 82 Stat. 215
1986Amended · Pub. L. 99-508 · 100 Stat. 1851

The record. According to the source credit, this section was added by Public Law 90-351, title III, section 802, enacted June 19, 1968, and published at 82 Stat. 215. It was subsequently amended once, by Public Law 99-508, title I, section 101(c)(1)(A), enacted October 21, 1986, 100 Stat. 1851. The source credit thus indicates a single enactment followed by one later amendment. Historical context. Public Law 90-351 is the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, and Title III of that Act—commonly known as the Wiretap Act—is generally understood to have established the federal statutory framework governing the interception of wire and oral communications. This title is commonly cited as Congress's response to concerns in the 1960s about unregulated electronic surveillance by both government and private actors, and to constitutional developments regarding wiretapping and privacy. Within that framework, provisions authorizing seizure and forfeiture of intercepting devices, such as this section, are generally understood as an enforcement mechanism meant to reinforce the Act's prohibitions on illegal manufacture, sale, and use of such devices by allowing their confiscation. The 1986 amendment came via the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Public Law 99-508, which is commonly understood to have expanded Title III's coverage to electronic communications more broadly, reflecting technological change. The record here, however, does not establish the specific legislative reasoning behind this section's particular text or the precise content of the 1986 amendment to it.

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