ABSTRACT
According to Webster’s Dictionary, eavesdropping refers to the rainwater that drips from the eaves of a house, and eavesdropper refers to a person who stands under the eaves to listen secretly to the private conversations of others inside the house.1 Throughout history, overheard conversations have provided evidence for criminal prosecutions. To provide evidence of a criminal conspiracy or other unlawful activity, a witness might testify to incriminating conversations he overheard while eavesdropping at an open door or window. When the witness testifying is a government agent, Fourth Amendment protections are implicated. If the government agent is lawfully present at a place where he or she can hear the conversation with the naked ear, no search occurs. The reasoning is analogous to the plain view doctrine. Here, it is the plain hearing doctrine because people who speak loudly or purposefully enough to be heard by others knowingly expose their conversation to the public.2
