CPL § 705.20

Orders authorizing the use of a pen register or a trap and trace device; determination of application  ·  as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 705.20 Orders authorizing the use of a pen register or a trap and

trace device; determination of application.

1. If the justice determines on the basis of the facts submitted by the applicant that grounds exist for the issue of an order authorizing the use of a pen register or a trap and trace device pursuant to section 705.10 of this article, the justice shall grant the application and issue an order authorizing the use of a pen register or a trap and trace device, in accordance with subdivision three of this section.

2. If the application does not conform to section 705.15 of this article, or if the justice is not satisfied that grounds exist for the issuance of an order authorizing the use of a pen register or a trap and trace device, the application must be denied.

3. An order issued under this section must contain:

(a) the name of the applicant, date of issuance, and the subscription and title of the issuing justice; and

(b) the identity, if known, of the person to whom is leased or in whose name is listed the telephone line to which the pen register or trap and trace device is to be attached; and

(c) the identity, if known, of the person who is the subject of the criminal investigation; and

(d) the number and, if known, the physical location of the telephone line to which the pen register or trap and trace device is to be attached and, in the case of a trap and trace device, the geographic limits of the trap and trace order; and

(e) a statement of the designated crime or crimes to which the information likely to be obtained by the pen register or trap and trace device relates.

4. An order issued under this section shall direct, upon the request of the applicant, the furnishing of information, facilities, and technical assistance necessary to accomplish the installation of the pen register or trap and trace device under section 705.25 of this article.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/705.20

In plain English

A justice must grant or deny a pen-register or trap-and-trace application from the submitted facts and, if granting it, specify the required details.

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 2 — The Court Officer: Criminal Procedure Law; Volume 2 — Your Career: Criminal Procedure in Plain English.