22-2514. Authorized interception of wire, oral or electronic communications; definitions.
22-2514
22-2514. Authorized interception of wire, oral or electroniccommunications; definitions.This act shall be a part of and supplemental to the code of criminalprocedure. As used in this act:
(1) "Wire communication" means any aural transfermade in whole or inpart through the use of facilities for the transmission ofcommunications by the aid of wire, cable or other like connectionbetween the point of origin and the point of reception,including the use of such connection in a switching station,furnished oroperated by any person engaged in providing oroperating such facilities for the transmission of intrastate, interstateor foreign communications.Wire communication shall include any electronic storage of suchcommunication;
(2) "oral communication" means any oral communication uttered by aperson exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subjectto interception under circumstances justifying such expectation,but such term does not include any electronic communication;
(3) "intercept" means the aural or other acquisition of the contents of anywire, oral or electronic communication through the use ofany electronic, mechanicalor other device;
(4) "persons" means any individual, partnership, association, jointstock company, trust or corporation, including any official, employee oragent of the United States or any state or any political subdivisionthereof;
(5) "investigative or law enforcement officer" means any lawenforcement officer who is empowered by the law of this state to conductinvestigations of or to make arrests for offenses enumerated in thisact, including any attorney authorized by law to prosecute orparticipate in the prosecution of such offensesand agents of the United States federal bureau of investigation, drugenforcement administration, marshals service, secret service, treasurydepartment, customs service, justice department and internal revenue service;
(6) "contents" when used with respect to any wire, oralor electronic communication, includes any information concerning thesubstance, purport ormeaning of such communication;
(7) "aggrieved person" means a person who was a party to anyintercepted wire, oral or electronic communication or aperson against whom theinterception was directed;
(8) "judge of competent jurisdiction" means a justice of the supremecourt, a judge of the court of appeals or any district judge but doesnot include a district magistratejudge;
(9) "electronic, mechanical or other device" means any device orapparatus which can be used to intercept a wire, oral orelectronic communicationother than:
(a) Any telephone or telegraph instrument, equipment or facility, orany component thereof, (i) furnished to the subscriber or user by a providerof wire or electroniccommunication service in the ordinary course of its business andbeing used by the subscriber or user in the ordinary course of itsbusinessor furnished by such subscriber or user for connection to the facilitiesof such service and used in the ordinary course of its businessor (ii) being used by a provider ofwire or electronic communication service in theordinary course of its business, or by an investigative or lawenforcement officer in the ordinary course of theofficer's duties; or
(b) a hearing aid or similar device being used to correct subnormalhearing to not better than normal;
(10) "communication common carrier" means common carrier, as definedby section 153(h) of title 47of the United States Code;
(11) "electronic communication" means any transfer of signs, signals,writing, images, sounds, data or intelligence of any nature transmittedin whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic orphoto-optical system but does not include:
(a) Any wire or oral communication;
(b) any communication made through a tone-only paging device; or
(c) any communication from a tracking device, as defined insection3117, chapter 205 of title 18, United States Code;
(12) "user" means any person or entity who:
(a) Uses an electronic communication service; and
(b) is duly authorized by the provider of such service to engage in suchuse;
(13) "electronic communications system" means any wire, radio,electromagnetic,photo-optical or photoelectronic facilities for the transmission of electroniccommunications, and any computer facilities or related electronic equipmentfor the electronic storage of such communications;
(14) "electronic communication service" means any service which providesto users thereof the ability to send or receive wire or electroniccommunications;
(15) "readily accessible to the general public" means, with respectto a radio communication, that such communication is not:
(a) Scrambled or encrypted;
(b) transmitted using modulation techniques whose essential parametershave been withheld from the public with the intention of preserving theprivacy of such communication;
(c) carried on a subcarrier or other signal subsidiary to a radio transmission;
(d) transmitted over a communication system provided by a common carrier,unless the communication is a tone-only paging system communication; or
(e) transmitted on frequencies allocated under part 25, subpart D, Eor F of part 74, or part 94 of the rules of the federal communications commission,unless, in the case of a communication transmitted on a frequency allocatedunder part 74 that is not exclusively allocated to broadcast auxiliary services,the communication is a two-way voice communication by radio;
(16) "electronic storage" means:
(a) Any temporary, intermediate storage of a wire or electronic communicationincidental to the electronic transmission thereof; and
(b) any storage of such communication by an electronic communicationservice for purposes of backup protection of such communication; and
(17) "aural transfer" means a transfer containing the human voice atany point between and including the point of origin and the point of reception.
History: L. 1974, ch. 150, § 1; L. 1976, ch. 165, § 1;L. 1976, ch. 163, § 4; L. 1976, ch. 165, § 2;L. 1986, ch. 115, § 55;L. 1988, ch. 117, § 1;L. 1995, ch. 92, § 1; July 1.