The Fourth Amendment's proscription on unreasonable search and seizure does not apply to telephone wiretaps. (Overruled by Katz v. United States (1967)) Decided June 4, 1928 (argued 1928). Opinion of the Court: William Howard Taft → go there Dissenting: Holmes, Brandeis, Butler. Overruled by Katz v. United States, → go there Applied: the Fourth Amendment → go there Applied: the Fifth Amendment → go there Topic: Fourth Amendment rights. Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928), was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, on the matter of whether wiretapping of private telephone conversations, conducted by federal agents without a search warrant with recordings subsequently used as evidence, constituted a violation of the target’s rights under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. In a 5–4 decision, the Court held that the constitutional rights of a wiretapping target have not been violated. Wiki link