viding wire or electronic communication service in the United
States whose assistance may facilitate the execution of the order.
Whenever such an order is served on any person or entity not
specifically named in the order, upon request of such person
or entity, the attorney for the Government or law enforcement
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or investigative officer that is serving the order shall provide
written or electronic certification that the order applies to the
person or entity being served.
(2)
State Investigative or Law Enforcement Officer—Upon an applica-
tion made under section 3122 (a)(2), the court shall enter an ex parte order authorizing the instal ation and use of a pen register or trap
and trace device within the jurisdiction of the court, if the court
finds that the State law enforcement or investigative officer has cer-
tified to the court that the information likely to be obtained by such
instal ation and use is relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation.
(3) (A) Where the law enforcement agency implementing an ex
parte order under this subsection seeks to do so by installing
and using its own pen register or trap and trace device on
a packet-switched data network of a provider of electronic
communication service to the public, the agency shall ensure
that a record will be maintained which will identify—
(i) any officer or officers who installed the device and any
officer or officers who accessed the device to obtain
information from the network;
(ii) the date and time the device was installed, the date and
time the device was uninstalled, and the date, time, and
duration of each time the device is accessed to obtain
information;
(iii) the configuration of the device at the time of its instal-
lation and any subsequent modification thereof; and
(iv) any information which has been collected by the device.
To the extent that the pen register or trap and trace device
can be set automatical y to record this information elec-
tronical y, the record shall be maintained electronical y
throughout the instal ation and use of such device.
(B) The record maintained under subparagraph (A) shall be
provided ex parte and under seal to the court which entered
the ex parte order authorizing the installation and use of the
device within 30 days after termination of the order (includ-
ing any extensions thereof).
(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 or other facility
to which the pen register or trap and trace device is to be
attached or applied;
(B) the identity, if known, of the person who is the subject of the
criminal investigation;
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299
(C) the attributes of the communications to which the order
applies, including the number or other identifier and, if
known, the location of the telephone line or other facility
to which the pen register or trap and trace device is to be
attached or applied, and, in the case of an order authoriz-
ing installation and use of a trap and trace device under
subsection (a)(2), the geographic limits of the 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 installa-
tion and use of a pen register or a trap and trace device for a
period not to exceed 60 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 60 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 or other facility to which
the pen register or a trap and trace device is attached or applied,
or who is obligated by the order to provide assistance to the appli-
cant, not disclose the existence of the pen register or trap and
trace device or the existence of the investigation to the listed sub-
scriber, or to any other person, unless or until otherwise ordered
by the court.
§ 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 elec-
tronic communication service, landlord, custodian, or other person
shall furnish such investigative or law enforcement officer forth-
with all information, facilities, and technical assistance necessary
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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 or other facility and shall furnish such investiga-
tive 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 pro-
vided 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 offi-
cer 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 infor-
mation, facilities, or assistance in accordance with 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.
(f) Communications Assistance Enforcement Orders. Pursuant to section 2522, an order may be issued to enforce the assistance capability
and capacity requirements under the Communications Assistance
for Law Enforcement Act.
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301
§ 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;
(B) conspiratorial activities characteristic of organized crime;
(C) an immediate threat to a national security interest; or
(D) an ongoing attack on a protected computer (as defined in
section 1030) that constitutes a crime punishable by a term
of imprisonment greater than 1 year; that requires the instal-
lation 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
48 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 appli-
cation for the order is denied or when 48 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 enforce-
ment officer of a pen register or trap and trace device pursuant to
subsection (a) without application for the authorizing order within
48 hours of the installation shall constitute a violation of this chapter.
(d) A provider of a wire or electronic service, landlord, custodian, or
other person who furnished facilities or technical assistance pur-
suant to this section shall be reasonably compensated for such
reasonable expenses incurred in providing such facilities and
assistance.
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§ 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, which report shall include information concerning—
(1) the period of interceptions authorized by the order, and the number
and duration of any extensions of the order;
(2) the offense specified in the order or application, or extension of an order;
(3) the number of investigations involved;
(4) the number and nature of the facilities affected; and
(5) the identity, including district, of the applying investigative or law enforcement agency making the application and the person authorizing the order.
§ 3127. Definitions for Chapter
As used in this chapter—
(1) the terms “wire communication,” “electronic communication,”
“electronic communication service,” and “contents” have the mean-
ings set forth for such terms in section 2510 of this title;
(2) the term “court of competent jurisdiction” means—
(A) any district court of the United States (including a magistrate
judge of such a court) or any U.S. court of appeals that—
(i) has jurisdiction over the offense being investigated;
(ii) is in or for a district in which the provider of a wire or
electronic communication service is located;
(iii) is in or for a district in which a landlord, custodian, or
other person subject to subsections (a) or (b) of section
3124 of this title is located; or
(iv) is acting on a request for foreign assistance pursuant to
section 3512 of this title; or
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 or process which records
or decodes dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling information
transmitted by an instrument or facility from which a wire or elec-
tronic communication is transmitted, provided, however, that such
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303
information shall not include the contents of any communication,
but such term does not include any device or process used by a pro-
vider or customer of a wire or electronic communication service
for billing, or recording as an incident to billing, for communica-
tions services provided by such provider or any device or process
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 or process which
captures the incoming electronic or other impulses which identify
the originating number or other dialing, routing, addressing, and
signaling information reasonably likely to identify the source of a
wire or electronic communication, provided, however, that such
information shall not include the contents of any communication;
(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.
Communications Assistance Law Enforcement
Act of 1994 (47 U.S.C. 1001–1021)
Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994
Pub. L. No. 103-414, 108 Stat. 4279
One Hundred Third Congress
of the
United States of America
at the Second Session
An Act
To amend title 18, United States Code, to make clear a telecommunications carrier’s duty to cooperate in the interception of communications for law enforcement purposes, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled
Title I: Interception of Digital and Other Communications
§ 101. Short Title
This title may be cited as the “Communications Assistance for Law
Enforcement Act”.
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§ 102. Definitions
For purposes of this title—
(1) The terms defined in section 2510 of title 18, United States Code,
have, respectively, the meanings stated in that section.
(2) The term “call-identifying information” means dialing or signal-
ing information that identifies the origin, direction, destination, or
termination of each communication generated or received by a sub-
scriber by means of any equipment, facility, or service of a telecom-
munications carrier.
(3) The term “Commission” means the Federal Communications
Commission.
(4) The term “electronic messaging services” means software-based ser-
vices that enable the sharing of data, images, sound, writing, or other
information among computing devices controlled by the senders or
recipients of the messages.
(5) The term “government” means the government of the United States
and any agency or instrumentality thereof, the District of Columbia,
any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States, and
any State or political subdivision thereof authorized by law to con-