United States v. Howard Arthur Swann

The government appeals from an order of the district court suppressing evidence derived from wiretaps approved by prior court orders dated September 13, 1971, October 26, 1971, and November 12, 1971, on the ground that the Department of Justice failed to comply (1) with the requirement of 18 U.S.C. § 2516 (1) that an application for a wiretap order be authorized by the Attorney General himself, or by an Assistant Attorney General specially designated by the Attorney General, and (2) with the requirement of section 2518(l)(a) that the application identify the officer authorizing the application.

The procedure followed by the Justice Department in applying for the wiretap order of September 13, 1971, was the same as that followed by the Department in applying for the wiretap order principally at issue in United States v. Chavez, 416 U.S. 562 , 94 S.Ct. 1849 , 40 L.Ed.2d 380 (1974), decided after the district court’s suppression order in this case. Here, as in Chavez , the Attorney General himself approved the application, but the application stated that it had been authorized by Assistant Attorney General Will Wilson. As in Chavez , Wilson’s name was signed to the…