18 USC  S. 3121 Pen Registers (as of 4/93)


S. 3121. General prohibition on  pen register  and trap and trace device
use; exception

   (a) In general. Except as provided in this section, no person may
install or use a  pen register  or a trap and trace device without first
obtaining a court order under section 3123 of this title or under the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

   (b) Exception. The prohibition of subsection (a) does not apply with
respect to the use of a  pen register  or a trap and trace device by a
provider of electronic or wire communication service--

   (1) relating to the operation, maintenance, and testing of a wire or
electronic communication service or to the protection of the rights or
property of such provider, or to the protection of users of that service
from abuse of service or unlawful use of service; or

   (2) to record the fact that a wire or electronic communication was
initiated or completed in order to protect such provider, another
provider furnishing service toward the completion of the wire
communication, or a user of that service, from fraudulent, unlawful or
abusive use of service; or

   (3) where the consent of the user of that service has been obtained.

   (c) Penalty. Whoever knowingly violates subsection (a) shall be fined
under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.


S. 3122.  Application for an order for a  pen register  or a trap and
trace device

   (a) Application.

   (1) An attorney for the Government may make application for an order
or an extension of an order under section 3123 of this title authorizing
or approving the installation and use of a  pen register  or a trap and
trace device under this chapter , in writing under oath or equivalent
affirmation, to a court of competent jurisdiction.

   (2) Unless prohibited by State law, a State investigative or law
enforcement officer may make application for an order or an extension of
an order under section 3123 of this title authorizing or approving the
installation and use of a  pen register  or a trap and trace device
under this chapter, in writing under oath or equivalent affirmation, to
a court of competent jurisdiction of such State.

   (b) Contents of application. An application under subsection (a) of
this section shall include--

   (1) the identity of the attorney for the Government or the State law
enforcement or investigative officer making the application and the
identity of the law enforcement agency conducting the investigation; and

   (2) a certification by the applicant that the information likely to
be obtained is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation being
conducted by that agency.


S. 3123.  Issuance of an order for a  pen register  or a trap and trace
device

   (a) In general.  Upon an application made under section 3122 of this
title, the court shall enter an ex parte order authorizing the
installation and use of a  pen register  or a trap and trace device
within the jurisdiction of the court if the court finds that the
attorney for the Government or the State law enforcement or
investigative officer has certified to the court that the information
likely to be obtained by such installation and use is relevant to an
ongoing criminal investigation.

   (b) Contents of order.  An order issued under this section--

   (1) shall specify--

   (A) the identity, if known, of the person to whom is leased or in
whose name is listed the telephone line to which the  pen register  or
trap and trace device is to be attached;

   (B) the identity, if known, of the person who is the subject of the
criminal investigation;

   (C) the number and, if known, physical location of the telephone line
to which the  pen register  or trap and trace device is to be attached
and, in the case of a trap and trace device, the geographic limits of
the trap and trace order; and

   (D) a statement of the offense to which the information likely to be
obtained by the  pen register  or trap and trace device relates; and

   (2) shall direct, upon the request of the applicant, the furnishing
of information, facilities, and technical assistance necessary to
accomplish the installation of the  pen register  or trap and trace
device under section 3124 of this title.

   (c) Time period and extensions.

   (1) An order issued under this section shall authorize the
installation and use of a  pen register  or a trap and trace device for
a period not to exceed sixty days.

   (2) Extensions of such an order may be granted, but only upon an
application for an order under section 3122 of this title and upon the
judicial finding required by subsection (a) of this section. The period
of extension shall be for a period not to exceed sixty days.

   (d) Nondisclosure of existence of  pen register  or a trap and trace
device. An order authorizing or approving the installation and use of a
pen register or a trap and trace device shall direct that--

   (1) the order be sealed until otherwise ordered by the court; and

   (2) the person owning or leasing the line to which the  pen register
or a trap and trace device is attached, or who has been ordered by the
court to provide assistance to the applicant, not disclose the existence
of the  pen
 register  or trap and trace device or the existence of the
investigation to the listed subscriber, or to any other person, unless
or until otherwise ordered by the court.



S. 3124.  Assistance in installation and use of a  pen register  or a
trap and trace device

   (a)  Pen registers.  Upon the request of an attorney for the
government or an officer of a law enforcement agency authorized to
install and use a  pen
 register  under this chapter, a provider of wire or electronic
communication service, landlord, custodian, or other person shall
furnish such investigative or law enforcement officer forthwith all
information, facilities, and technical assistance necessary to
accomplish the installation of the  pen register  unobtrusively and with
a minimum of interference with the services that the person so ordered
by the court accords the party with respect to whom the installation and
use is to take place, if such assistance is directed by a court order as
provided in section 3123(b)(2) of this title.

   (b) Trap and trace device. Upon the request of an attorney for the
Government or an officer of a law enforcement agency authorized to
receive the results of a trap and trace device under this chapter, a
provider of a wire or electronic communication service, landlord,
custodian, or other person shall install such device forthwith on the
appropriate line and shall furnish such investigative or law enforcement
officer all additional information, facilities and technical assistance
including installation and operation of the device unobtrusively and
with a minimum of interference with the services that the person so
ordered by the court accords the party with respect to whom the
installation and use is to take place, if such installation and
assistance is directed by a court order as provided in section
3123(b)(2) of this title. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the
results of the trap and trace device shall be furnished, pursuant to
section 3123(b) or section 3125 of this title, to the officer of a law
enforcement agency, designated in the court order, at reasonable
intervals during regular business hours for the duration of the order.

   (c) Compensation. A provider of a wire or electronic communication
service, landlord, custodian, or other person who furnishes facilities
or technical assistance pursuant to this section shall be reasonably
compensated for such reasonable expenses incurred in providing such
facilities and assistance.

   (d) No cause of action against a provider disclosing information
under this chapter . No cause of action shall lie in any court against
any provider of a wire or electronic communication service, its
officers, employees, agents, or other specified persons for providing
information, facilities, or assistance in accordance with the terms of a
court order under this chapter  or request pursuant to section 3125 of
this title.

   (e) Defense. A good faith reliance on a court order under this
chapter  a request pursuant to section 3125 of this title, a legislative
authorization, or a statutory authorization is a complete defense
against any civil or criminal action brought under this chapter or any
other law.


S. 3125.  Emergency  pen register  and trap and trace device
installation

   (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter , any
investigative or law enforcement officer, specially designated by the
Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, the Associate Attorney
General, any Assistant Attorney General, any acting Assistant Attorney
General, or any Deputy Assistant Attorney General, or by the principal
prosecuting attorney of any State or subdivision thereof acting pursuant
to a statute of that State, who reasonably determines that--

   (1) an emergency situation exists that involves--

   (A) immediate danger of death or serious bodily injury to any person;
or

   (B) conspiratorial activities characteristic of organized crime,

   that requires the installation and use of a  pen register  or a trap
and trace device before an order authorizing such installation and use
can, with due diligence, be obtained, and

   (2) there are grounds upon which an order could be entered under this
chapter to authorize such installation and use "may have installed and
use a  pen register  or trap and trace device if, within forty-eight
hours after the installation has occurred, or begins to occur, an order
approving the installation or use is issued in accordance with section
3123 of this title."

   (b) In the absence of an authorizing order, such use shall
immediately terminate when the information sought is obtained, when the
application for the order is denied or when forty-eight hours have
lapsed since the installation of the  pen register  or trap and trace
device, whichever is earlier.

   (c) The knowing installation or use by any investigative or law
enforcement officer of a  pen register  or trap and trace device
pursuant to subsection (a) without application for the authorizing order
within forty-eight hours of the installation shall constitute a
violation of this chapter.

   (d) A provider for a wire or electronic service, landlord, custodian,
or other person who furnished facilities or technical assistance
pursuant to this section shall be reasonably compensated for such
reasonable expenses incurred in providing such facilities and
assistance.


S. 3126.  Reports concerning  pen registers  and trap and trace devices

   The Attorney General shall annually report to Congress on the number
of  pen register  orders and orders for trap and trace devices applied
for by law enforcement agencies of the Department of Justice.


S. 3127.  Definitions for chapter

As used in this chapter -

   (1) the terms "wire communication", "electronic communication", and
"electronic communication service" have the meanings set forth for such
terms in section 2510 of this title;

   (2) the term "court of competent jurisdiction" means--

   (A) a district court of the United States (including a magistrate of
such a court) or a United States Court of Appeals; or

   (B) a court of general criminal jurisdiction of a State authorized by
the law of that State to enter orders authorizing the use of a  pen
register  or a trap and trace device;

   (3) the term " pen register"  means a device which records or decodes
electronic or other impulses which identify the numbers dialed or
otherwise transmitted on the telephone line to which such device is
attached, but such term does not include any device used by a provider
or customer of a wire or electronic communication service for billing,
or recording as an incident to billing, for communications services
provided by such provider or any device used by a provider or customer
of a wire communication service for cost accounting or other like
purposes in the ordinary course of its business;

   (4) the term "trap and trace device" means a device which captures
the incoming electronic or other impulses which identify the originating
number of an instrument or device from which a wire or electronic
communication was transmitted;

   (5) the term "attorney for the Government" has the meaning given such
term for the purposes of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure; and

   (6) the term "State" means a State, the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico, and any other possession or territory of the United States.

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