Historically, postal mail—especially letters sent "first class"—has enjoyed greater legal protection under U.S. law than other types of correspondence. But, thanks to the "War on Terror," that protection has greatly eroded in recent years.
A record of your written communications provides a highly revealing portrait. Many biographies have been written based on the subject's correspondence. What you write, and whom you correspond with, can be equally revealing.
A postal mail cover provides police and investigative agencies a record of all data appearing on the outside of any correspondence you receive or send. This includes the addressee, sender, return address, place and date of postmark.
Since the Postal Service doesn't open your mail in a mail cover, it doesn't consider this practice a "search." That means no warrant is required. As a result, there's no judicial supervision of mail covers. All that's required is the administrative approval of the Postal Inspection Service.
At the same time, though, the Postal Service is reluctant to say much about mail covers. You're not supposed to know. Indeed, when journalists requested data in 2006 on mail-cover trends and statistics, the Postal Service rejected their request, citing "the interest of national defense or foreign policy."
However, the Postal Service, in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, recently released limited data on mail covers. And the information is alarming. Each year, the Postal Inspection Service approves more than 10,000 mail covers. Nor is it applying a particularly rigorous standard of review. From 2004-2006, it approved more than 99.5% of mail cover applications.
It gets worse. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that authorities can't open first-class mail unless a judge issues a search warrant. But, again, an increasing number of exceptions apply. For instance, officials can open first-class mail if they suspect that it contains drugs or other contraband. Since 2002, the Customs Service has been empowered to conduct warrantless searches of first-class mail sent across a U.S. border.
Worst of all, in 2006, President Bush quietly asserted a new government prerogative to open domestic mail without a warrant, probable cause, or even suspicion that it contains dangerous materials or contraband. The only requirement is that the mail opening be related to "foreign intelligence collection."
Despite these drawbacks, first-class mail remains the best way to protect the privacy of your physical (as opposed to electronic) correspondence. This is particularly true in comparison with private courier services. All private courier services reserve the right to inspect the contents of packages and routinely cooperate with law enforcement in this regard. In addition, the courts have consistently said that private messengers may open packages prior to delivery.
Learn hundreds more ways to protect your privacy and wealth—click here for more information.
Copyright © 2008 by Mark Nestmann
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