Re: Newt's phone calls

[azur@netcom.com (Steve Schear)]

>On Thu, 16 Jan 1997, Phillip M. Hallam-Baker wrote:
>>
>> It was a conference call but over a cellular phone. Martin had hacked his
>> Radio Shack Scanner using a well known technique. He had a radio ham
>> license.
>>
>Phill
>        Actually I'd love to see this go to court & have the law itself
>tossed out.  How many years have the airwaves been free?  Now it is
>illegal to listen on the cellular frequencies.
>
>Sarah.
>
>==============================================================================
>Sarah L. Green          Hey, I never claimed to be                >>osprey<<
>Madison, AL  (USA)        a genius  nor a typist           greens@hiwaay.net
>==============================================================================

The concept that a corporation or individual transmitting information meant
for receiption at 'significant' distances should be accorded the
presumption of privacy is analogous that a person shouting out their window
to a person on the street and assuming that insisting neighbors be required
to turn a bind ear.

However, since the government has pressed the point, couldn't one use this
same logic to claim that since face-to-face conversations are assumed to be
private that wire taps are illegal.  I seem to recall that Chief Justice
Brandice made this argument in the late '20s.  Look where we are today.

--Steve