§3127 — Title 18 Crimes and Criminal Procedure | U.S. Code

Summary

Defines several key words used in this chapter about wire and electronic surveillance. It tells you what certain terms mean so people know how the rules apply. "Wire communication," "electronic communication," "electronic communication service," and "contents" — mean what section 2510 of this title says. "Court of competent jurisdiction" — includes a federal district court (including a magistrate) or a federal court of appeals that is tied to the case (for example, has jurisdiction over the offense, is where a provider or custodian is located, or is handling a foreign assistance request), and also a state criminal court that state law lets authorize pen registers or trap and trace devices. "Pen register" — a device or process that records dialing/routing/addressing/signaling info but not message content and does not include routine billing or cost-accounting tools used by providers. "Trap and trace device" — a device or process that captures incoming signals to identify the originating number or similar routing info, not the content. "Attorney for the Government" — has the meaning used in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. "State" — means a State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. possessions or territories.

Title 18, §3127

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

As used in this chapter—

(1)the terms “wire communication”, “electronic communication”, “electronic communication service”, and “contents” have the meanings set forth for such terms in section 2510 of this title;

(2)the term “court of competent jurisdiction” means—

(A)any district court of the United States (including a magistrate judge of such a court) or any United States court of appeals that—

(i)has jurisdiction over the offense being investigated;

(ii)is in or for a district in which the provider of a wire or electronic communication service is located;

(iii)is in or for a district in which a landlord, custodian, or other person subject to subsections (a) or (b) of section 3124 of this title is located; or

(iv)is acting on a request for foreign assistance pursuant to section 3512 of this title; or

(B)a court of general criminal jurisdiction of a State authorized by the law of that State to enter orders authorizing the use of a pen register or a trap and trace device;

(3)the term “pen register” means a device or process which records or decodes dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling information transmitted by an instrument or facility from which a wire or electronic communication is transmitted, provided, however, that such information shall not include the contents of any communication, but such term does not include any device or process used by a provider or customer of a wire or electronic communication service for billing, or recording as an incident to billing, for communications services provided by such provider or any device or process used by a provider or customer of a wire communication service for cost accounting or other like purposes in the ordinary course of its business;

(4)the term “trap and trace device” means a device or process which captures the incoming electronic or other impulses which identify the originating number or other dialing, routing, addressing, and signaling information reasonably likely to identify the source of a wire or electronic communication, provided, however, that such information shall not include the contents of any communication;

(5)the term “attorney for the Government” has the meaning given such term for the purposes of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure; and

(6)the term “State” means a State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any other possession or territory of the United States.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, referred to in par. (5), are set out in the Appendix to this title.

Amendments

2009—Par. (2)(A). Pub. L. 111–79 substituted “that—” and cls. (i) to (iv) for “having jurisdiction over the offense being investigated; or”. 2001—Par. (1). Pub. L. 107–56, § 216(c)(4), struck out “and” after “ ‘electronic communication’,” and inserted “, and ‘contents’ ” after “ ‘electronic communication service’ ”. Par. (2)(A). Pub. L. 107–56, § 216(c)(1), added subpar. (A) and struck out former subpar. (A) which read as follows: “a district court of the United States (including a magistrate judge of such a court) or a United States Court of Appeals; or”. Par. (3). Pub. L. 107–56, § 216(c)(2), substituted “dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling information transmitted by an instrument or facility from which a wire or electronic communication is transmitted, provided, however, that such information shall not include the contents of any communication” for “electronic or other impulses which identify the numbers dialed or otherwise transmitted on the telephone line to which such device is attached” and inserted “or process” after “device” wherever appearing. Par. (4). Pub. L. 107–56, § 216(c)(3), inserted “or process” after “means a device” and substituted “or other dialing, routing, addressing, and signaling information reasonably likely to identify the source of a wire or electronic communication, provided, however, that such information shall not include the contents of any communication;” for “of an instrument or device from which a wire or electronic communication was transmitted;”. 1988—Pub. L. 100–690 renumbered section 3126 of this title as this section.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective 90 days after Oct. 21, 1986, and, in case of conduct pursuant to court order or extension, applicable only with respect to court orders and extensions made after such date, with special rule for State authorizations of interceptions, see section 302 of Pub. L. 99–508, set out as a note under section 3121 of this title.

§3127 Definitions for Chapter