In the 1960 Supreme Court case Silverman et al. v. United States, the court ruled that warrantless electronic eavesdropping by police was a violation of the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. The case involved officers who had inserted a microphone into an adjoining row house to listen in on conversations happening within another home without obtaining a search warrant first. The defendants argued this constituted an illegal search because it violated their right to privacy in their own homes. In its decision, the Supreme Court agreed with them, stating that such surveillance methods were indeed unconstitutional if conducted without proper legal authorization or consent from those being monitored.

In the dissenting opinion for Silverman v. United States, it was argued that the use of an electronic listening device (spike mike) to overhear conversations within a private home did not constitute a violation of Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. The dissent maintained that this form of surveillance did not physically penetrate into or occupy private property in any tangible way, thus differing from traditional trespassory invasions upon privacy which are clearly prohibited by the Constitution. Furthermore, they contended that if such non-trespassory surveillance were deemed unconstitutional, then many accepted law enforcement practices like stakeouts or undercover operations could also be called into question. They believed there should be no constitutional difference between police officers overhearing conversations while legally present in adjoining premises and using technology to achieve the same result without physical intrusion.