Katz v. United States
389 U.S. 347 · 1967-12-18
The Fourth Amendment protects people, not places — the reasonable expectation of privacy.
Edition: U. S. Reports, bound volume
Source: U. S. Reports, volume 389, at 347 (Library of Congress) · transcription: Caselaw Access Project
Voices: Mr. Justice Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court. · Mr. Justice Douglas, with whom Mr. Justice Brennan joins, concurring. · Mr. Justice Harlan, concurring. · Mr. Justice White, concurring. · Mr. Justice Black, dissenting.
The petitioner was convicted in the District Court for the Southern District of California under an eight-count indictment charging him with transmitting wagering information by telephone from Los Angeles to Miami and Boston, in violation of a federal statute. At trial the Government was permitted, over the petitioner’s objection, to introduce evidence of the petitioner’s end of telephone conversations, overheard by FBI agents who had attached an electronic listening and recording device to the outside of the public telephone booth from which he had placed his calls. In affirming his…
The petitioner has phrased those questions as follows:Read it in the reading room ›