Owen J. Roberts

“ We have considered all the assignments of error but find no substance in any of them save those which go to the admission of Messman's and Garrow's testimony. In briefs and oral argument the parties have labored the subject of the burden of proof at the preliminary hearing. The petitioners say it lay with the Government after a showing of wire tapping and divulgence; the respondent says it lay with the petitioners throughout. Each asserts the other failed to carry it. In our view, a decision upon the point is unnecessary. ”

“ When Congress condemned the 'use' of lawlessly intercepted communications, the last thing it intended to sanction was the use of such interceptions in a court of justice. There can be no reason to ignore or silently overrule our considered decisions in both Nardone cases and the Weiss case, especially in view of the fact that Congress has had several opportunities since the first Nardone case to amend § 605 to obviate the result of that case if it were not a true interpretation of Congressional policy and intent. ”

“ In Weiss v. United States, 308 U.S. 321, 60 S.Ct. 269, 84 L.Ed. 298, intrastate telephone communications were intercepted by federal agents, their contents were divulged to certain of the defendants, and, as a result these defendants confessed and agreed to turn state's evidence. They were permitted to testify to the contents of the messages. We held that the interdiction of the statute extended to the interception and divulgence of intrastate as well as interstate messages. ”

“ We feel that you can be of great value and you want to help yourself. That is straight talk.' And Garrow knew of the existence of records of damaging conversations made by illegal 'taps' on his lines before his decision to testify for the Government.
Neither the intercepted messages nor their purport were placed in evidence, and, so far as the record shows, petitioners were not parties to them. ”

“ In your instance, Doctor, there is so much to cover. You have been in this for so many years that we feel that in order for you to help yourself, since you are considered one of the principals here, it would be wise for you to indicate to us whether you intend to tell us everything and come clean, or whether you intend to play ball with the Garrows and the rest of the crowd. ”

“ The rule that evidence obtained by a violation of § 605 is inadmissible is not a remedy for the sender; it is the obedient answer to the Congressional command that society shall not be plagued with such practices as wire-tapping.
Lower federal court cases to the effect that only the victim of a search and seizure contravening the Fourth Amendment can object to the evidence thereby obtained do not offer a proper analogy. Not only are those decisions hard to square with statements by Mr. ”