United States v. White
Citation and Court
401 U.S. 745 (1971) — Supreme Court of the United States
Facts
A government informant wore a hidden radio transmitter during conversations with White about drug dealing. The transmitter allowed government agents in the area to listen in real time. No warrant was obtained. White argued the electronic monitoring violated his Fourth Amendment rights.
Issue
Whether the Fourth Amendment is violated when a government informant electronically transmits conversations with a defendant to agents monitoring remotely.
Holding
No; a person who talks to a government informant, knowing the risk that the informant may be working for the government, assumes the risk that the conversation will be revealed and has no Fourth Amendment protection even if the informant transmits the conversation electronically.
Rule / Doctrine
Under Hoffa v. United States and Lewis v. United States, a person who confides in another assumes the risk of betrayal. The use of a radio transmitter by the informant does not change this analysis; the Constitution does not protect misplaced trust. The result is the same whether the informant reports conversations from memory, takes notes, or transmits them electronically.
Significance
Extended the “assumption of risk” doctrine to electronic surveillance by informants, rejecting the argument that Katz’s reasonable expectation of privacy principle applied when the interlocutor is a willing government agent. Distinguished from cases involving secret interception without the interlocutor’s cooperation.