Benanti v. United States

Background

A man was tried in federal court for possessing and transporting untaxed distilled spirits after New York police, investigating suspected narcotics activity, obtained a state court order to tap the telephone lines of a bar he frequented. Police overheard a conversation about “eleven pieces,” followed a car tied to the tip, and found eleven five-gallon cans of alcohol without federal tax stamps. State officers turned the car and cans over to federal authorities and the defendant was prosecuted in federal court. At trial the existence of the wiretap came out, and the jury learned the police had used the tapped information to make the stop. The defendant was convicted and the Court of Appeals upheld the conviction.

Reasoning

The central question was whether evidence obtained as a result of a wiretap by state officers, and then disclosed in violation of the Federal Communications Act (Section 605), could be used in a federal prosecution. Relying on earlier decisions interpreting Section 605, the Court held that the statute forbids the disclosure of intercepted communications and that any evidence obtained by means forbidden by the statute is inadmissible in federal court. The Court rejected the idea that a state law order authorizing the tap lets federal courts use the resulting evidence. Because the jury learned of the intercepted communication, the Court found the statutory prohibition was violated and that the disclosure likely contributed to the conviction. The Court did not decide related constitutional questions.

Real world impact

The decision prohibits federal courts from admitting evidence that depends on intercepted communications disclosed in violation of Section 605, even when those interceptions were carried out by state officers under state law. The Court reversed the conviction and sent the case back for further proceedings consistent with this ruling.