
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document affected by Public Law 107-56 Section 208]
[CITE: 50USC1803]

 
                   TITLE 50--WAR AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
 
              CHAPTER 36--FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE
 
                  SUBCHAPTER I--ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE
 
Sec. 1803. Designation of judges


(a) Court to hear applications and grant orders; record of denial; 
        transmittal to court of review

    The Chief Justice of the United States shall publicly designate 
seven district court judges from seven of the United States judicial 
circuits who shall constitute a court which shall have jurisdiction to 
hear applications for and grant orders approving electronic surveillance 
anywhere within the United States under the procedures set forth in this 
chapter, except that no judge designated under this subsection shall 
hear the same application for electronic surveillance under this chapter 
which has been denied previously by another judge designated under this 
subsection. If any judge so designated denies an application for an 
order authorizing electronic surveillance under this chapter, such judge 
shall provide immediately for the record a written statement of each 
reason of his decision and, on motion of the United States, the record 
shall be transmitted, under seal, to the court of review established in 
subsection (b) of this section.

(b) Court of review; record, transmittal to Supreme Court

    The Chief Justice shall publicly designate three judges, one of whom 
shall be publicly designated as the presiding judge, from the United 
States district courts or courts of appeals who together shall comprise 
a court of review which shall have jurisdiction to review the denial of 
any application made under this chapter. If such court determines that 
the application was properly denied, the court shall immediately provide 
for the record a written statement of each reason for its decision and, 
on petition of the United States for a writ of certiorari, the record 
shall be transmitted under seal to the Supreme Court, which shall have 
jurisdiction to review such decision.

(c) Expeditious conduct of proceedings; security measures for 
        maintenance of records

    Proceedings under this chapter shall be conducted as expeditiously 
as possible. The record of proceedings under this chapter, including 
applications made and orders granted, shall be maintained under security 
measures established by the Chief Justice in consultation with the 
Attorney General and the Director of Central Intelligence.

(d) Tenure

    Each judge designated under this section shall so serve for a 
maximum of seven years and shall not be eligible for redesignation, 
except that the judges first designated under subsection (a) of this 
section shall be designated for terms of from one to seven years so that 
one term expires each year, and that judges first designated under 
subsection (b) of this section shall be designated for terms of three, 
five, and seven years.

(Pub. L. 95-511, title I, Sec. 103, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 1788.)

                       References in Text

    This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a), (b), and (c), was in the 
original ``this Act'', meaning Pub. L. 95-511, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 
1783, as amended, which is classified principally to this chapter. For 
complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note 
set out under section 1801 of this title and Tables.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 1802, 1804, 1805, 1821, 
1822, 1824, 1842, 1862 of this title; title 8 section 1532.
