Laws: Cases and Codes : U.S. Code : Title 50 : Section 1803


   
U.S. Code as of: 01/19/04
Section 1803. Designation of judges

    (a) Court to hear applications and grant orders; record of denial;
      transmittal to court of review
      The Chief Justice of the United States shall publicly designate
    11 district court judges from seven of the United States judicial
    circuits of whom no fewer than 3 shall reside within 20 miles of
    the District of Columbia who shall constitute a court which shall
    have jurisdiction to hear applications for and grant orders
    approving electronic surveillance anywhere within the United States
    under the procedures set forth in this chapter, except that no
    judge designated under this subsection shall hear the same
    application for electronic surveillance under this chapter which
    has been denied previously by another judge designated under this
    subsection. If any judge so designated denies an application for an
    order authorizing electronic surveillance under this chapter, such
    judge shall provide immediately for the record a written statement
    of each reason of his decision and, on motion of the United States,
    the record shall be transmitted, under seal, to the court of review
    established in subsection (b) of this section.
    (b) Court of review; record, transmittal to Supreme Court
      The Chief Justice shall publicly designate three judges, one of
    whom shall be publicly designated as the presiding judge, from the
    United States district courts or courts of appeals who together
    shall comprise a court of review which shall have jurisdiction to
    review the denial of any application made under this chapter. If
    such court determines that the application was properly denied, the
    court shall immediately provide for the record a written statement
    of each reason for its decision and, on petition of the United
    States for a writ of certiorari, the record shall be transmitted
    under seal to the Supreme Court, which shall have jurisdiction to
    review such decision.
    (c) Expeditious conduct of proceedings; security measures for
      maintenance of records
      Proceedings under this chapter shall be conducted as
    expeditiously as possible. The record of proceedings under this
    chapter, including applications made and orders granted, shall be
    maintained under security measures established by the Chief Justice
    in consultation with the Attorney General and the Director of
    Central Intelligence.
    (d) Tenure
      Each judge designated under this section shall so serve for a
    maximum of seven years and shall not be eligible for redesignation,
    except that the judges first designated under subsection (a) of
    this section shall be designated for terms of from one to seven
    years so that one term expires each year, and that judges first
    designated under subsection (b) of this section shall be designated
    for terms of three, five, and seven years.



Previous [Notes] Next

Related Resources

Defense Department Guide

Military Courts

War Powers Resource

Military Discussion

Ads by FindLaw