Roving Interception

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2518(11)(a) and (b), the government may obtain authorization to intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications of specifically named subjects without specifying with particularity the premises within, or the facilities over which, the communications will be intercepted. (Such authorization is commonly referred to as "roving" authorization.) As to the interception of oral communications, the government may seek authorization without specifying the location(s) of the interception when it can be shown that it is not practical to do so.

See

United States v. Bianco

, 998 F.2d 1112 (2d Cir. 1993),

cert. denied

, 114 S. Ct. 1644 (1994);

United States v. Orena

, 883 F. Supp. 849 (E.D.N.Y. 1995). An application for the interception of wire and/or electronic communications of specifically named subjects may be made without specifying the facility or facilities over which the communications will be intercepted when it can be shown that there is probable cause to believe that the target subject's actions could have the effect of thwarting interception from a specified facility. 18 U.S.C. § 2518(11)(b)(ii).

When the government seeks authorization for roving interception, the Department's authorization must be made by the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, the Associate Attorney General, an Assistant Attorney General, or an Acting Assistant Attorney General.

See

18 U.S.C. § 2518(11)(a)(i) and (b)(i). Further guidance on roving interception may be found on ESU's DOJNet site.

[revised January 2020] [cited in

JM 9-7.100

]