Posted on 11/28/2012 1:51:57 AM PST by SoFloFreeper
Cellphones seem to be increasingly attractive to the Department of Justice, documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union show. Agencies affiliated with the department used more than 37,600 court orders in 2011 to gather cellphone data, a sharp increase from previous years. They were almost equally divided between “pen register” data, which captures outgoing phone numbers, and “trap and trace” orders, which refer to incoming phone numbers, which means one phone could have two separate orders associated with it.
The total number has roughly doubled since 2007, when cellphone communications were more limited.
By law, the data can be obtained without a search warrant establishing probable cause, though the authorities do need to tell a court that it is relevant to an investigation. To get a wiretap that allows authorities to actually listen in on the contents of a call has higher legal barriers; law enforcement officials have to convince an impartial judge of probable cause.
(Excerpt) Read more at bits.blogs.nytimes.com ...
No bitching from the media.
...if a particular Judge is approached and grants the invasion of privacy over and over, does he not lose the impartiality tag?
Impartial means he’s only been bribed by the Justice Dept.
Also, while Bush was in office, if one were to express reservations about such a thing, around here and in other places, they would have been tarred/feathered and labeled as being something between a liberal and terrorist sympathizer. Folks need to be a little less 'selective' in their defense of liberty, and not have so much of the 'it's ok when our guy does it' attitude. When things like this were going on back then, I recall many on our side warning supporters of such tactics that some day, that power could be turned against THEM.
I agree it IS quite telling with all the silence from the media and the rest of the leftward hypocrites. The so called "ACLU" doesn't seem to have much to say either.....
Obama’s NSA eavesdropping goes beyond that of Bush... after campaigning on the promise of: “ No warrantless wiretaps if you elect me!”
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9845595-7.html
headlines read:” NSA Exceeds Legal Limits In Eavesdropping Program” , “ U.S. phone intercepts go beyond legal limits” , and “NSA Found Improperly Spying on Americans”.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123985123667923961.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
http://uk.reuters.com/article/burningIssues/idUKTRE53F09820090416
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/15/justice-dept-nsa-improperly-spied-americans/
it’s for your own safety when Barry does it
You are right.
Probably suing a city with a manger scene.
we all know that’s faaaarrrr more dangerous.
I don’t necessarily see the the increase in cell phone listening for criminal investigations as a problem. The abuse of the tactic is no different from the abuse of wired phones.
What the statistics really indicate is that criminals have abandoned wired phones for wireless phones. I would seem reasonable to me that the statistics actually lag the need simply because cell phones are difficult to locate.
When things like this were going on back then, I recall many on our side warning supporters of such tactics that some day, that power could be turned against THEM.
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Ah, but it had those warm, fuzzy blankets of comfort wrapped around them. “Patriot” Act. “Homeland”. “Security”.
So much Kinder, Gentler and more Compassionate than the average authoritarian/totalitarian state.
I guess the classics really are dead, as so few can recognize a Trojan horse anymore.
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