Investigating three people it suspected of conspiring to destroy government property and bombing a Central Intelligence Agency office, officials used electronic surveillance to record suspects' conversations. The wiretapping was conducted without a search warrant.
Did the wiretapping violate the Fourth Amendment?
The Court held government officials were obligated to obtain a warrant before beginning electronic surveillance even if domestic security issues were involved. The "inherent vagueness of the domestic security concept" and the potential for abusing it to quell political dissent made the Fourth Amendment protections especially important when the government engaged in spying on its own citizens.
Decisions
Decision: 8 votes for U.S. District Court, 0 vote(s) against Legal provision: Amendment 4: Fourth Amendment
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Full Opinion by Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr.
