Resolution of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Concerning Mail Cover Surveillance adopted at Spring Meeting, April 19, 2015:<\/p>\n
WHEREAS, mail cover surveillance is the investigative practice of recording the information listed on the outside of mail going to or from a designated address, which has existed in the United States since the nineteenth century;
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\nWHEREAS, the use of mail covers has been abused repeatedly throughout its history, undermining both First and Fourth Amendment principles, and potentially violating individuals\u2019 constitutional rights;<\/p>\nWHEREAS, a 2014 United States Postal Service audit of the mail cover program revealed the breadth of the mail cover program as well as its systemic failures in authorization and monitoring;<\/p>\n
WHEREAS, in addition to these administrative failures, the mail cover program, in some cases, violates the Fourth Amendment in light of the United States Supreme Court\u2019s ruling in United States v. Jones and other cases;<\/p>\n
AND, WHEREAS, the mail cover program, at least in some cases, chills individuals\u2019 First Amendment rights to associate, receive information, and communicate anonymously;<\/p>\n
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers adopts the report and recommendation<\/a> to address the aforementioned flaws through reform to the mail cover program, including:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Support for the recommendations of the Office of Inspector General in its May 28, 2014 Report;<\/p>\n
\u2022 Congressional passage of an exclusionary rule for any evidence uncovered as the result of a reckless or intentional failure to follow mail cover regulations;<\/p>\n
\u2022 Judicial use of United States v. Jones and other cases to impose Fourth Amendment limitations on mail covers;<\/p>\n
\u2022 Requirement of review of mail cover-related decisions of the Chief Postal Inspector or his designees, which are currently unreviewable;<\/p>\n
\u2022 Requirement of a higher standard of evidence to justify a mail cover;<\/p>\n
\u2022 Elimination of the current arbitrary eight-year data retention period, and requiring data retention for a short period of time, and a period grounded in reason.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Resolution of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Concerning Mail Cover Surveillance adopted at Spring Meeting, April 19, 2015: WHEREAS, mail cover surveillance is the investigative practice of recording the information listed on the … Continue reading