E-MAIL AND THE WIRETAP LAWS - WHY CONGRESS SHOULD ADD ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION TO TITLE-III STATUTORY EXCLUSIONARY-RULE AND EXPRESSLY REJECT A GOOD FAITH EXCEPTION

In 1986, Congress passed the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, thereby revamping the Title III wiretap laws to bring new techno logies that send and receive electronic communication, such as electro nic mail, into the statutory framework of the laws governing wiretaps. However, Congress gave electronic communication less protection from government interception than it affords wire and oral communication. I n particular; Congress did not include a statutory suppression remedy for electronic communication seized in violation of Title Ill's provis ions. In this Article, the author argues that this discrimination thre atens the growth of emerging electronic technologies, creates formalis tic distinctions in the lair: and discourages law enforcement from vig ilantly applying the provisions of title III. Furthermore, the author argues that Congress, in its revisions of Title III, included confusin g language that clouded the status of the ''good faith'' exception to the exclusionary rule for Title III violations involving Mire and oral communication. The author concludes that Congress should revisit Titl e III, especially the statutory exclusionary rule, to provide a suppre ssion remedy for illegal interception of electronic communication and to reject explicitly any ''good faith'' exception for both constitutio nal and statutory violations of Title III.