Is Wire-Tapping Constitutional?

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the provisions of the United States Constitution as well as pertinent federal statutes that are affected by wire-tapping. The paper looks briefly at previous decisions of the United States Supreme Court vis-a-vis government wire-tapping. The paper argues that a solution to government wire-tapping is for a constitutional amendment to be passed authorizing its use - but only if specific criteria are satisfied. The paper then discusses the social implications of the proposed solution.

Outline:
Introduction
Statement of the Constitutional Issue
Research on the Issue: Federal Statutes and Court Precedents
Proposed Solution with Supporting Argument
Social Policy Implications of Proposed Solution

From the Paper:

"The constitutional issue at the heart of the ongoing controversy over the government wire-tapping initiative comes down to Article II of the United States Constitution. Among other things, this article gives the President the power to serve as Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy as well as the authority to preside over the militia of the nation's states; he or she also has the power to make treaties and these treaties are binding as long as two-thirds of the Senate is in accord. In the overview, Article II appears to give the President considerable scope or latitude in the realm of national defense. With this in mind, it may be argued that the White House's wire-tapping initiative is validated by the explicit obligation the President has to protect the well-being of the nation in times of peril."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alter, Jonathan. (2006, January 23). "A Power Outage on Capitol Hill." Newsweek, p.36
• City of Indianapolis v. Edmond 531 U.S. 32 (2000).
• Ferguson v. Charleston, 532 U.S. 67 (2001).
• Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978, 50 U.S.C. ss.1801-1811, 1821-29, 1841-46, and 1861-62.
• Gonzales, Alberto R. Attorney General of the United States, (2006, February 6). "Prepared statement of Hon. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General of the United States," Department of Justice, retrieved May 4, 2007 from <http://www.justice.gov/ag/speeches/2006/ag_speech_060206.html>

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