United States v. Paul Joseph Harmon

Appellant and a number of co-defendants were charged with distributing cocaine and using a telephone to facilitate the distribution of narcotics in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), and 843(b). Appellant failed to appear on the day of trial, and remained a fugitive until after his co-defendants had been convicted. Appellant was then apprehended, tried, and convicted. At both trials, the convictions rested in part upon evidence obtained through use of a wiretap authorized by court order issued pursuant to Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510 et seq. The wiretap was installed by entering upon private premises without permission of the owners, as expressly authorized by the court’s order.

The convictions of appellant’s co-defendants were reversed on appeal on two grounds: (1) that the statute did not permit courts to authorize break-ins to install listening devices, and (2) that a showing had not been made that normal investigative techniques were unlikely to succeed as required by Section 2518(l)(c) of the Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2518 (l)(c). United States v. Santora, 583 F.2d 453 (9th Cir. 1978). The Supreme Court granted certiorari…