Senate Bill 2265

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 41-29-501, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF "INVESTIGATIVE OR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER" UNDER THE WIRETAPPING LAW; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 41-29-501, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

41-29-501. As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed to them herein unless the context requires otherwise:

(a) "Aggrieved person" means a person who was a party to an intercepted wire, oral or other communication or a person against whom the interception was directed.

(b) "Communication common carrier" has the meaning given the term "common carrier" by 47 USCS 153(h) and shall also mean a provider of communication services.

(c) "Contents," when used with respect to a wire, oral or other communication, includes any information concerning the identity of the parties to the communication or the existence, substance, purport or meaning of that communication.

(d) "Covert entry" means any entry into or onto premises which if made without a court order allowing such an entry under this article would be a violation of criminal law.

(e) "Director" means the Director of the Bureau of Narcotics or, if the director is absent or unable to serve, the Assistant Director of the Bureau of Narcotics.

(f) "Electronic, mechanical or other device" means a device or apparatus primarily designed or used for the nonconsensual interception of wire, oral or other communications.

(g) "Intercept" means the aural or other acquisition of the contents of a wire, oral or other communication through the use of an electronic, mechanical or other device.

(h) "Investigative or law enforcement officer" means an officer of this state or of a political subdivision of this state who is empowered by law to conduct investigations of, or to make arrests for, offenses enumerated in Section 41-29-505, * * * an attorney authorized by law to prosecute or participate in the prosecution of such offenses, or any other person designated by the director.

(i) "Judge of competent jurisdiction" means a justice of the Supreme Court or a circuit court judge.

(j) "Oral communication" means an oral communication uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that the communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying that expectation.

(k) "Other communication" means any transfer of an electronic or other signal, including fax signals, computer generated signals, other similar signals, or any scrambled or encrypted signal transferred via wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectric or photooptical system from one party to another in which the involved parties may reasonably expect the communication to be private.

(l) "Prosecutor" means a district attorney with jurisdiction in the county in which the facility or place where the communication to be intercepted is located or a legal assistant to the district attorney if designated in writing by the district attorney on a case-by-case basis.

(m) "Residence" means a structure or the portion of a structure used as a person's home or fixed place of habitation to which the person indicates an intent to return after any temporary absence.

(n) "Wire communication" means a communication made in whole or in part 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 furnished or operated by a person engaged as a common carrier in providing or operating the facilities for the transmission of communications and includes cordless telephones, voice pagers, cellular telephones, any mobile telephone, or any communication conducted through the facilities of a provider of communication services.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2005.