U.S. v. Koyomejian

• Decision Date: 02 July 1992
• Docket Number: No. 90-50218,90-50218
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Wanis KOYOMEJIAN; Raffi Kouyoumjian; Simon Kouyoumjian; Agop Kouyoumjian; Ohanes Khawaloujian; Salim Chalhoub; Rita Sorfazian; Dalida Avakian; Avedis Khawaloujian; Jimmy Contreras; Raul Vivas; Hamayak Atayan, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 536

970 F.2d 536

61 USLW 2052

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Wanis KOYOMEJIAN; Raffi Kouyoumjian; Simon Kouyoumjian Agop Kouyoumjian; Ohanes Khawaloujian; Salim Chalhoub Rita Sorfazian; Dalida Avakian; Avedis Khawaloujian Jimmy Contreras; Raul Vivas; Hamayak Atayan, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 90-50218.

United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted April 30, 1992.

Decided July 1, 1992.

Concurrence July 2, 1992.

Steven D. Clymer and Richard G. Rathmann, Asst. U.S. Attys., Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiff-appellant.

Steve Cochran, Katten, Muchin, Zavis & Weitzman, Los Angeles, Cal., for defendants-appellees Wanis Koyomejian and Simon Kouyoumjian.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Before: WALLACE, Chief Judge, and BROWNING, SCHROEDER, POOLE, CANBY, NORRIS, KOZINSKI, THOMPSON, LEAVY, TROTT, and NELSON, Circuit Judges.

TROTT, Circuit Judge:

This case presents the question whether federal law prohibits the use of silent video surveillance as part of a domestic criminal investigation, and if not, what standards govern such surveillance. On an interlocutory appeal brought under 18 U.S.C. § 3731 (1988), a divided panel of this court held domestic silent video surveillance was permitted, but only if processed and approved pursuant to the technical procedures specified in 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521 (1988 & Supp. II 1990) ("Title I"). United States v. Koyomejian, 946 F.2d 1450 (9th Cir.1991), amended on other grounds (9th Cir. Jan. 16, 1992). We granted a rehearing en banc, 957 F.2d 636 (9th Cir.1992), and now hold that silent domestic video surveillance is neither prohibited nor regulated by Title I.

I FACTS

In January of 1988, the government began investigating the conduct of the defendants in this case, Wanis Koyomejian and eighteen other persons, all associated with Ropex Corporation, a gold and jewelry business located in Los Angeles, California. The government suspected Ropex was being used to launder cash receipts from narcotics trafficking. According to the indictments filed in this case, Koyomejian and his employees would collect the cash received from narcotics sales, deposit it in bank accounts in Los Angeles, and wire On September 9, 1988, the government filed in district court applications to install hidden microphones and silent closed circuit television cameras inside Ropex's offices. The application to install the hidden television cameras was brought under Rules 41(b) and 57 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651 (1988). The application to install the hidden microphones was brought under Title I. Both applications were supported by a single seventy-seven page affidavit from Bruce R. Stephens, a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

                transfer it to a gold refining company in Florida, supposedly to buy gold for Ropex.   From Florida, the money would flow through a series of complex sham transactions, and eventually would be funneled out of the country to companies owned by Colombian drug dealers.   The indictments allege that over a two-year period, more than 312 million dollars was laundered by the defendants
                

The district court granted the government's applications, and on September 19, 1988, the government began both audio and silent video surveillance of Ropex's offices. The surveillance produced silent video tapes of nine of the defendants receiving, counting, and packaging large amounts of cash, which later was deposited into local banks. On February 22, 1989, the defendants were arrested and all surveillance ceased.

On March 7, 1989, the defendants were indicted for conspiracy to aid and abet the possession and distribution of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846 (1988), 18 U.S.C. § 2 (1988), and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1956 (1988), as well as substantive money laundering counts, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956. Seven of the nineteen defendants pleaded guilty. The remaining twelve defendants, eleven of whom were the subject of a superseding indictment, are the appellants in this case.

Throughout March of 1990, the district court held hearings on various pretrial motions filed by the defendants, including a motion to suppress the fruits of the video surveillance. On March 27, 1990, the district court ruled that domestic silent video surveillance was prohibited by Title I, and granted the defendants' motion to suppress. The district court denied the government's motion for reconsideration, but stayed the trial pending the government's interlocutory appeal to this court.

II DISCUSSION

This case hinges on a proper interpretation of Title I and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, 50 U.S.C. §§ 1801-1811 (1988) (the "FISA"). Title I regulates the interception for domestic purposes of "wire, oral, or electronic communication[s]," 18 U.S.C. § 2511(1); its definition of those terms does not include silent video surveillance, see 18 U.S.C. § 2510. The FISA regulates the use for "foreign intelligence" purposes, 50 U.S.C. § 1804(a)(7)(B), of any form of "electronic surveillance," 50 U.S.C. § 1802, including silent video surveillance, see 50 U.S.C. § 1801(f)(4). The question is what effect, if any, these statutes have on silent video surveillance conducted for purely domestic purposes.

The defendants argue that domestic silent video surveillance is prohibited by Title I, or, alternatively, that it is regulated by Title I; the government claims such surveillance is neither prohibited nor regulated by the statute. The district court found domestic silent video surveillance was prohibited by Title I; the original panel found it was not prohibited, but regulated. We conclude (1) neither Title I nor the FISA prohibits domestic silent video surveillance; (2) Title I does not regulate such surveillance; (3) the Fourth Amendment does regulate such surveillance.

A NEITHER TITLE I NOR THE FISA PROHIBITS DOMESTIC SILENT VIDEO SURVEILLANCE

Title I does not address silent video surveillance. By its terms, the statute governs the interception of "wire, oral, or electronic communications...." 18 U.S.C.

                §   2511.   The statute defines a "wire communication" as "any aural transfer made ... through the use of facilities for the transmission of communications by the aid of wire, cable, or other like connection between the point of origin and the point of reception...."  18 U.S.C. § 2510(1) (emphasis added).   An "oral communication" is defined as "any oral communication uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying such expectation...."  18 U.S.C. § 2510(2) (emphasis added).   An "electronic communication" is "any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted ... by a wire...."  18 U.S.C. § 2510(12) (emphasis added).   Finally, "intercept" means "the aural or other acquisition of the contents of any wire, electronic, or oral communication through the use of any electronic, mechanical, or other device."  18 U.S.C. § 2510(4) (emphasis added)
                

By their plain meaning, these definitions do not apply to silent video surveillance. As the Supreme Court stated, discussing 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2520 (1968) (amended 1970, 1986, 1988) ("Title III"), the predecessor of Title I, ¹ the statute "is concerned only with orders 'authorizing or approving the interception of a wire or oral communication....' " United States v. New York Tel. Co., 434 U.S. 159, 166, 98 S.Ct. 364, 369, 54 L.Ed.2d 376 (1977) (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 2518(1)) (emphasis removed) (omission in New York Tel. Co.). The Court held pen registers ² are not subject to the statute because "[t]hese devices do not hear sound.... [They] do not accomplish the 'aural acquisition' of anything[, and they] present the information in a form to be interpreted by sight rather than by hearing." Id. at 167, 98 S.Ct. at 369-70. This analysis applies equally to silent video surveillance. See United States v. Biasucci, 786 F.2d 504, 508 (2d Cir.) (quoting New York Tel. Co., 434 U.S. at 166, 98 S.Ct. at 369), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 827, 107 S.Ct. 104, 107, 93 L.Ed.2d 54, 56 (1986).

The legislative history of Title I also indicates the statute does not regulate silent video surveillance. "The Senate committee report, after repeating the statutory definition of 'aural acquisition,' remarks: 'Other forms of surveillance are not within the proposed legislation.' " United States v. Torres, 751 F.2d 875, 880 (7th Cir.1984) (quoting S.Rep. No. 1097, 90th Cong., 2d Sess. 90 (1968), reprinted in 1968 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2112, 2178), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1087, 105 S.Ct. 1853, 85 L.Ed.2d 150 (1985).

The 1986 Senate Report on Title I makes clear that Congress did not intend to regulate domestic silent video surveillance. The Report states:

Although this bill does not address questions of the application of title III standards to video surveillance and only deals with the interception of closed circuit television communications to a limited extent, closed circuit television communications do provide another example of the importance of, and the interrelationship between, the definitions contained in this legislation. If a person or entity transmits a closed circuit television picture of a meeting using wires, microwaves or another method of transmission, the transmission itself would be an electronic communication. Interception of the picture at any point without either consent or a court order would be a violation of the statute. By contrast, if law enforcement officials were to install their own cameras and create their own closed circuit television picture of a meeting, the capturing of the video images would not be an interception S.Rep. No. 541, 99th Cong., 2d Sess. 16-17, reprinted in 1986 U.S.C.C.A.N. 3555, 3570-71 (...