hambirg
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BBM.
Does this mean that only Federal LE agency's can get search warrants in regards to phones? I would hope that local LE could get the same information or wire taps as the Feds.
I'm not sure how it applies to local LE. I guess it would depend on the state statutes. What I do know that a crime involving cell phones can fall under Federal Jurisdiction.
Here's an interesting article that explains it well, better than I can in this limited space. . . .
The presence of "interstate commerce" is thought to render the crime at issue a federal crime - since under the Constitution, the involvement of "interstate commerce" gives Congress a right to legislate.
But what counts as "interstate commerce"? In the federal murder-for-hire statute, interstate travel and interstate commerce - which can merely be the use of the mail, or a telephone - can both count.
. . .. For it ensures that the mere act of picking up a phone (and cellphones count), or dropping a letter in one's own mailbox, can transform an alleged state crime into an alleged federal crime.
The breadth of the statute's reach has inevitably led to some strange scenarios for the courts. The Fifth Circuit and Eleventh Circuit, for instance, both had to consider whether an intrastate call could still count as interstate commerce for the purpose of the federal murder-for-hire statute.
The Fifth Circuit decision simply said yes.
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hilden/20031015.html
It's a really good read. It even speaks to the fact that you can be tried both on the state level and federal level without invoking double jeopardy. :what: