Court Orders Franks Hearing In Rajaratnam Case

A Franks hearing allows a defendant challenging the government’s application for wiretap authorization to obtain an evidentiary hearing in certain circumstances. As the U.S. Supreme Court explained in Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (1978), “where the defendant makes a substantial preliminary showing that a false statement knowingly and intentionally, or with reckless disregard for the truth, was included by the affiant in the warrant affidavit, and if the allegedly false statement is necessary to the finding of probable cause, the Fourth Amendment requires that a hearing be held at the defendant’s request.” 

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Holwell has ordered a Franks hearing in the federal government’s criminal action against Raj Rajaratnam (pictured). The court found that Rajaratnam made a “substantial preliminary showing” that the government “recklessly or knowingly misleadingly omitted several key facts” from the March 7, 2008 affidavit it submitted when it applied for permission to wiretap Rajaratnam – including the existence of an SEC investigation that preceded the wiretap request. The court then ruled that the existence and scope of the SEC investigation “raises a substantial question as to whether the government’s affidavit adequately demonstrated the necessity of a wiretap.”
 
Of course, it remains to be seen whether the court will bar the wiretap evidence from Rajaratnam’s case. In any event, it also remains to be seen whether the evidence against Rajaratnam will be sufficient to persuade a factfinder to find him guilty. But for now, Rajaratnam and his attorney, John Dowd, can rightfully claim a small victory in this case.