Charles Katz Wiretapping Essay

According to multiple sources wiretapping is the act of getting into an individuals phone or electronic device in hopes of listening to their conversation without their consent. To begin with, the case in regards to wiretapping that I will expand on is Katz v. United States in which the Supreme Court ruled on December 18, 1967. This legal case revolved around a man named, Charles Katz, who authorities from the Federal Bureau of Investigation were suspicious of illegally making bets with gamblers in different states to gain money from the winnings. In order to avoid being exposed he decided to use the public phone booths as the primary form of communication to transmit wagering information. However, through time and surveillance federal agents
Katz argued that the United States Federal government had violated his fourth amendment rights. At the end, the Supreme Court judges ruled that it was in fact unreasonable to wiretap the pay phone in order to eavesdrop on his conversation since it infringed with his right to privacy. However, with the verdict the judges also elaborated that to avoid violating the right of privacy of citizens protected by the fourth amendment it is vital to establish probable cause to obtain a wiretap order. In many ways the Katz vs. United States was an important transition of how much power the federal government had with wiretapping and the extend of protection the fourth amendment has on the public. In my opinion, wiretapping can be potentially good but it is crucial to establish regulation and set of parameters to secure the right to privacy that has been granted to American citizens through the constitution. Furthermore, if the federal, state or local government do not abuse of their power to reasonably wiretap telephone conversation then it is for the greater good of society as long as they can collect evidence to incarcerate severe criminals such as