Pubdate: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO) Copyright: 2007, Denver Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371 Author: Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News LEGAL WIRETAPS ON RISE IN COLORADO Help in Drug Busts Lauded, But Critics Decry Privacy Loss The number of phones secretly wiretapped by Colorado law enforcement hit a 10-year high last year, leading to large drug busts statewide while raising concerns about the privacy of innocent people. The increase in the court-authorized wiretaps was led by the U.S. Attorney's Office, which used 108 wiretaps in its first year under U.S. Attorney for Colorado Troy Eid. That's four times the number used in the 12 months prior to Eid's August 2006 arrival, according to data from his office. State prosecutors, meanwhile, got permission to use 43 wiretaps in 2006 - more than in the previous nine years combined, according to an annual report by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. For Eid, the reason to rely on wiretaps is simple. "The wiretap does not lie," he said. Eid, an appointee of President Bush, also said using wiretaps is safer than sending an undercover agent or informant to buy drugs. Wiretaps also may be the only way to reach the highest-level dealers - people who wouldn't talk to or sell drugs to strangers, said Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger, whose office, with the help of wiretaps, charged 31 people with selling methamphetamine last year. But the increase is alarming to others, who note it's not just the targets of investigations, but anyone who makes a call to those targets, who may be recorded. "You do have people with no connection whatsoever with crime whose conversations are scrutinized," said Cathryn Hazouri, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado. "That is a serious invasion of their privacy." 'Substantial Checks' Court-authorized wiretaps are different from the controversial warrantless eavesdropping the National Security Agency has used in its war on terror. These legal wiretaps require a judge's approval. Prosecutors must show that there is probable cause to believe the target is breaking the law and that other investigative methods aren't working, are too dangerous or are unlikely to work. The U.S. Attorney's Office also must get approval of a deputy attorney general in Washington, D.C., before taking a wiretap application to a federal judge. Once the application is granted, attorneys must provide regular updates to the judge. If they want to continue a wiretap beyond the standard 30 days, they must provide justification. And once the wiretaps are "live," the officers or federal agents listening in are required by law to stop listening if the discussion isn't related to the criminal investigation. "I can't overemphasize the number of hoops we have to jump through," Hautzinger said. "It is not something we do willy-nilly." But defense attorneys say it's still far too easy to get authorization. The judge hears only from one side - the prosecution - and relies on an investigator's version of events to determine whether there is probable cause. Last year, no state or federal judge denied a request for a wiretap, the report from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts showed. Of the more than 15,000 applications filed in the past decade, only five were denied. That leads Denver attorney Mari Newman to question whether judges are scrutinizing the applications as much as they should. "You really do have to wonder if it's a rubber stamp," she said. Hazouri said she is particularly concerned because the Democratic National Convention will be in Denver next August. Prior to the 2004 conventions, FBI agents and members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Forces questioned people they thought might engage in crime at the events. "There could easily be a tendency to overuse wiretaps and justify them as preventing violence at the convention, when they're really intercepting calls among nonviolent protesters," Hazouri said. "The track record is not great." Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for Eid, said there is no cause for alarm. "This process has substantial checks in place to ensure that they are done right," he said. Meanwhile, the number of wiretaps authorized nationwide is climbing. Federal and state judges approved 1,839 wiretaps last year - a 54 percent increase over a decade ago. Drug Investigations Of the 1,839 wiretaps authorized last year, 80 percent were for drug investigations. In Colorado, those investigations brought big results, authorities say. In April, Eid announced federal indictments against more than 50 people. In addition to those already arrested or charged in state court, the total number of defendants was more than 100, making it the largest gang and drug bust in state history. Many of those defendants were caught up in the more than 50 wiretaps federal authorities used during the 18-month investigation. Eid's office also said it's no coincidence that as the number of wiretaps has increased, so has the amount of drugs seized. Since he took office, federal agents have seized 1,151 kilograms of marijuana and 126 kilograms of cocaine. That's up from 122 kilograms of marijuana and 13 kilograms of cocaine in the 12 months preceding Eid's tenure. El Paso County authorities said they used wiretaps in recent Colorado Springs drug busts, including one in which the area's drug task force seized about 20 pounds of methamphetamine worth more than $3 million. And in Grand Junction, wiretaps were "absolutely irreplaceable" in arresting and convicting 31 people for selling methamphetamine, Hautzinger said. According to the report from the courts office, the 31 convictions were the most resulting from wiretaps reported by any state district attorney's office nationwide last year. The arrests never could have been made without the wiretaps, Hautzinger said. "With increasingly sophisticated dealers, I think wiretaps are virtually the only way to break up big dealers," he added. It also helps get a conviction, Eid and Hautzinger said. A wiretap, if it survives a legal challenge from defense attorneys, is much more reliable and believable than another person's recollection of an event or a conversation. "There's not much better evidence than a defendant's own words," Hautzinger said. Listening In Federal and state authorities are eavesdropping on a record number of Colorado phones. 108 wiretaps were used by the Office of the U.S. Attorney for Colorado between Aug. 1, 2006, and July 31, 2007.* 27 wiretaps were used between Aug. 1, 2005, and July 31, 2006. • Wiretaps authorized by state judges for local district attorneys 2006......43 Four in Jefferson County; seven in Denver; 24 in El Paso; six in Mesa; two in the 9th District (Garfield, Pitkin and Rio Blanco counties) 2005......12 One in Denver; 11 in El Paso 2004......0 2003......2 One in Denver; one in Weld County 2002......0 2001......2 2000......5 1999......2 1998......1 1997......4 • Wiretaps authorized nationwide (all states and federal) 2006......1,839 2005......1,773 2004......1,710 2003......1,442 2002......1,358 35% increase in authorized wiretaps over the past five years. 92% of wiretaps authorized nationwide in 2006 were for portable devices, such as cell phones or pagers. 80% were for suspected drug offenses. $52,551 is the average cost of each wiretap. This includes the cost of installing the devices and monitoring communications.*Troy Eid Became U.S. Attorney For Colorado In August 2006. Source: U.S. Attorney'S Office, Administrative Office Of The U.S. Courts - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D