Denied.
Petitioner asks that we review the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirming his convictions for defrauding the telephone company in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 and for use of interstate commerce facilities for illegal gambling in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1084 and 1952. The only evidence against petitioner was obtained by the telephone company's action in tapping his telephone line or was the product of information gained from that tap. The company became suspicious that petitioner was using a 'blue box' to avoid payment for long-distance telephone calls. A 'blue box' is an electronic signaling device which can be used to bypass the equipment which automatically records tolls on direct-dialed long-distance calls. An electronic device—which did not record the content of any conversations—confirmed the presence on the line of the 2,600-cycle tone characteristic of the operation of a 'blue box.' Company security officers then connected to petitioner's line a tape recorder which began recording the conversation on the line whenever the 2,600-cycle tone appeared and which automatically cut off after 35 to 45 seconds.
Mr. Justice FORTAS, with whom Mr. Justice DOUGLAS joins, dissenting.
The recording instrument was used for about three weeks. The FBI was then informed of the recordings, and the recordings were turned over to a grand jury in response to a subpoena. Using the recorded information, the FBI obtained a warrant and conducted a search of petitioner's home.
Section 605 of the Federal Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 605, prohibits the interception and divulgence of telephone messages. It is argued—and the Fifth Circuit held—that the information was not unlawfully obtained because § 605 excludes from its prohibitions certain divulging of telephone messages by '[a] person * * * transmitting, or assisting in transmitting' conversations.
In a similar case, Bubis v. United States, 384 F.2d 643 (C.A. 9th Cir.1967), the Ninth Circuit held that under § 605 the telephone company was not allowed to continue tapping its subscribers' lines to detect fraud 'after ample evidence had been secured of the illegal use of the company's facilities.' 384 F.2d, at 648. The tap in Bubis recorded the whole conversation and not merely the first part, but an essential fact—that the interception was more extensive than necessary to detect fraud—is the same in both cases.
I would grant certiorari in this case to resolve the area of conflict between circuits and to determine whether § 605 permits the telephone company to intercept and divulge personal communications which are used in the expectation of freedom from 'the uninvited ear.' Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 352, 88 S. Ct. 507, 19 L. Ed. 2d 576 (1967).