Tavernetti v. Superior Court

Opinion

MOSK, J.

In this petition for writ of prohibition, we must decide whether a telephone company employee’s conduct in intercepting private telephone conversations or in subsequently disclosing to law enforcement authorities the contents of such conversations violated either federal or state law concerning wiretapping and eavesdropping.

The following events gave rise to this prosecution: in November 1976 the Escondido police sought a warrant to search certain premises on the basis of an officer’s affidavit, the sole source of information for which was the contents of two intercepted private…