len@cvax.cs.uwm.edu (Prof. L. P. Levine) (03/22/90)
Index Number: 7220 [This is an article from the RISKS digest mailing list. Bill McGarry] Is TDD printed output Information or just paper? From the Milwaukee Journal, 3/18/90. A piece of TDD (Telecommunication Device for the Deaf) output was pried from the clenched fist of a deaf man, resulting in a life prison sentence for murder, according to an appeal being considered by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The questions created by this case include: Was the paper obtained illegally? Is the TDD output to be considered public information or as private as a phone conversation? Since the TDD was in the sheriff's department office in Pierce County, Wisconsin, the paper is police property. Is the information written on it during normal use also police property? The facts of the case: Robert Rewolinski was picked up on a traffic charge in June 1987. He used the TDD in the sheriff's office to call his common law wife, Catherine Teeters, for a ride home. During the TDD conversation Teeters told Rewolinski "I am scared like hell you will do something to me or the kids. I don't want the kids to have short lives or hurt... I can't stand you anymore... You must understand that I don't want you and I don't love you." Three hours later the sheriff's TDD received a call with the message "Robert Rewolinski here. Lost my mind. Cathy's dead." The TDD printout of the earlier conversation was considered the critical evidence in convicting him of first degree murder rather than manslaughter. The prosecution contends that the deputy was simply retaining custody and control of police property. She could not have been looking for evidence of a crime since no crime had yet been committed. The defense contends Rewolinski deserves a new trial because the printout should not have been taken or used as evidence. It is clear that the paper belonged to the sheriff. Did the information on it belong to them too? The police do not monitor phone conversations in such circumstances, how about TDD communication? Leonard P. Levine, Professor, Computer Science, Univ. Wisconsin-Milwaukee