Criminal investigation: interception of communications.

(1) Existing law allows for an application authorizing the interception of a wire, electronic pager, or electronic cellular telephone to be made by the Attorney General or a district attorney to a judge of a superior court, as specified. Existing law defines wire communication, electronic pager communication, and electronic cellular telephone communication for these purposes. This bill would delete the references to electronic pager communication and electronic cellular telephone communication and replace those references with references to electronic communication. The bill would define electronic communication as any transfer of signs, signals, writings, images, sounds, data, or intelligence by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric, or photo-optical system, with specified exceptions. This bill would thereby authorize the above persons to make an application for an order permitting the interception of electronic communications, as defined. (2) Under existing law an application for a communications interception may be made informally and granted orally if an emergency situation exists, and other factors are present. Existing law conditions the oral grant of the informal application on the filing of a written application for an order within 48 hours of the oral approval. This bill would condition the granting of an oral approval on the filing of a written application by midnight of the second full court day after the oral approval is made. (3) Under existing law an order may not authorize a communications interception for longer than a maximum of 30 days. This bill would provide that the 30 days would not commence until the day of the actual initial interception, or 10 days after the issuance of the order, whichever comes first. (4) Existing law requires an order for a communications interception to require that written reports be made to the judge authorizing the interception, as provided. Existing law requires that a report be filed at least every 6 days until the authorization is terminated. This bill would require the reports to be made every 10 days, commencing with the date of the signing of the order authorizing the interception. (5) This bill would make other conforming and clarifying changes. (6) Existing law specifies obligations for parties applying for and carrying out orders to intercept communication, and makes a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor or felony. This bill would broaden the types of communication to which these crimes would apply. By creating new crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (7) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.