Olmstead v. US

US Supreme Court decision of 1928 dealing with the legality of telephone wiretapping in criminal investigations. The petitioner, a man convicted of selling alcohol illegally, appealed the case on the grounds that, in violation of the Fourth Amendment, the evidence against him had been obtained through telephone wiretaps. The Court upheld the conviction, ruling 5 to 4 that, since law enforcement officers made no actual entry into Olmstead's house, the surveillance was constitutional.