WIRETAP RESTRICTIONS HAMPER ISLE POLICE

THE ISSUE - A State Law-Enforcement Coalition Is Asking The Legislature To
Ease The Procedure For Gaining Permission To Use Wiretaps.

LAW-enforcement agencies are asking the Legislature to bring Hawaii into
line with nearly all other states that use electronic surveillance to combat
drug trafficking and other crimes. Wiretaps essentially are not used by
police in Hawaii because of a restriction requiring adversary hearings
before a judge to gain authorization. Ohio is the only other state in the
country that requires such an onerous procedure. The requirement should be
lifted to improve law enforcement and coordination between local authorities
and federal prosecutors.

A coalition that includes U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo, Attorney General Mark
Bennett, county prosecutors and police chiefs is asking the Legislature to
end a system in which a prosecuting attorney and a court-appointed lawyer
representing the interests of a wiretap target argues the case before a
judge. A coalition that included then-U.S. Attorney Steve Alm and
then-Attorney General Earl Anzai -- both Democratic appointees -- made the
same request last year.

Kubo says his office has been prevented from transferring more than 100
cases to county prosecutors because federal rules don't require adversary
hearings so don't conform with state law. The cases did not meet other
federal standards so went unprosecuted. Kubo says the practical exclusion of
wiretaps by state law enforcement has placed off-limits what would be a
useful tool in combatting the trafficking of crystal methamphetamine, a
widely distributed and dangerous drug in Hawaii.

Under the proposed procedure, authorities would have to put the case before
a surveillance review unit under the attorney general and then a District or
Circuit Court judge for final approval. The judge must be shown that there
is probable cause to believe that the person targeted for the wiretap is
committing an offense. and that the wiretap would obtain evidence of the
offense.

Wiretaps authorized by state courts nationwide have risen dramatically, with
more than 1,000 requests granted in 2001, up from 711 the previous year.
More than 80 percent were used in drug cases. Two-thirds of the wiretaps
were used by police to eavesdrop on portable devices such as cellular
phones, pagers and cordless phones.

Brent White, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii,
argues that the procedure proposed by the law-enforcement coalition would
erode privacy rights. His concern that such rights are under siege because
of the war on terrorism is understandable. But continuing to hamper
law-enforcement agencies at the state and county levels would be an
overreaction to Attorney General John Ashcroft's zealous policies.