>>> Pen registers and trap-and-trace devices (PRTT) let the authorities see what numbers a phone is calling or is receiving calls from, as well as some other metadata, such as the length of the calls and some location info. These methods don't actually tap into the calls and reveal their contents, so the US government says that no probable cause or warrant is needed. Law enforcement (or intelligence agencies) just need to file a generic request with a district court, which then rubberstamps approval literally 100% of the time.

These applications are always sealed (including even the case numbers), and we the public know very little about them. But now, thanks to a three-year court proceeding initiated by the indefatigable Jason Leopold (and his attorney Jeffrey Light and his employer Vice News), a federal judge has done something unprecedented: released a list of PRTT requests. Specifically, all 235 such cases from DC District Court in 2012:

The ruling for In the Matter of the Application of Jason Leopold to Unseal Certain Electronic Surveillance Applications and Orders [PDF - 2 pages]

Attachment A: List of Miscellaneous Case Numbers for Pen Register and/or Trap and Trace Applications and Orders... [PDF - 53 pages]

As you'll notice, almost all of the 235 cases are listed as sealed. If you search for those numbers on Pacer (the document-management system for federal courts), you get this:

But three of the cases aren't marked as *sealed*, and looking up those numbers on Pacer yields some rarely seen documents. Below are the government's PRTT applications in those three instances. For one of the cases, I've also included the court's order granting the application, as well as the government's request to extend the PRTT, the court's granting of the extension, the government's motion to unseal the previous documents, and the court's order to unseal:

Case 1-12-mc-00186-JMF: application \ order \ extension application \ extension order \ unseal motion \ unseal order

Case 1-12-mc-00007-DAR: application

Case 1-12-mc-00297-AK: application

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