Archives
-
Recent Posts
- N.D.N.Y.: DNA by SW in FL in CODIS could be used in NY; defense counsel not IAC for not making def’s argument
- D.Ariz.: Smell of alcohol in the car on Navajo Nation was PC
- NY3: No REP in parole GPS monitoring as to police
- TX: An entry into a person’s homestead for civil discovery has limits
- S.D.W.Va.: Subpoenas for records on advocacy positions violated 1A
-
Feedspot’s Best Legal Blogs and Websites 2023-2026,
also, firm website Top 90 Criminal Law Blogs 2026 -
-
ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2015-17) (then discontinued)
-
-
by John Wesley Hall
Criminal Defense Lawyer and
Search and seizure law consultant
Little Rock, Arkansas
Contact: forhall @ aol.com
Search and Seizure (6th ed. 2025)
www.johnwesleyhall.com -
© 2003-26,
online since Feb. 24, 2003 Approx. 600,000 visits (non-robot) since 2012 Approx. 50,000 posts since 2003 (29,000 on WordPress as of 12/31/25) -
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fourth Amendment cases, citations, and links -
Latest Slip Opinions:
U.S. Supreme Court (Home)
S.Ct. Shadow Docket Database
Federal Appellate Courts Opinions
First Circuit
Second Circuit
Third Circuit
Fourth Circuit
Fifth Circuit
Sixth Circuit
Seventh Circuit
Eighth Circuit
Ninth Circuit
Tenth Circuit
Eleventh Circuit
D.C. Circuit
Federal Circuit
Foreign Intell.Surv.Ct.
FDsys, many district courts, other federal courts
Military Courts: C.A.A.F., Army, AF, N-M, CG, SF
State courts (and some USDC opinions)
Google Scholar
Advanced Google Scholar
Google search tips
LexisWeb
LII State Appellate Courts
LexisONE free caselaw
Findlaw Free Opinions
To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
Research Links:
Supreme Court:
SCOTUSBlog
S. Ct. Docket
Solicitor General's site
SCOTUSreport
Briefs online (but no amicus briefs)
Oyez Project (NWU)
"On the Docket"–Medill
S.Ct. Monitor: Law.com
S.Ct. Com't'ry: Law.com
-
General (many free):
LexisWeb
Google Scholar | Google
LexisOne Legal Website Directory
Crimelynx
Lexis.com $
Lexis.com (criminal law/ 4th Amd) $
Findlaw.com
Findlaw.com (4th Amd)
Westlaw.com $
F.R.Crim.P. 41
www.fd.org
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Resources
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (2008) (pdf)
DEA Agents Manual (2002) (download)
DOJ Computer Search Manual (2009) (pdf)
Stringrays (ACLU No. Cal.) (pdf)
-
Congressional Research Service:
--Electronic Communications Privacy Act (2012)
--Overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (2012)
--Outline of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping (2012)
--Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping (2012)
--Federal Laws Relating to Cybersecurity: Discussion of Proposed Revisions (2012)
ACLU on privacy
Privacy Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
NACDL’s Domestic Drone Information Center
Electronic Privacy Information Center
Criminal Appeal (post-conviction) (9th Cir.)
Section 1983 Blog -
"If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. It isn't, and they don't."
—Me -
"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well."
–Josh Billings (pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw), Josh Billings on Ice, and Other Things (1868) (erroneously attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson, among others) -
“I am still learning.”
—Domenico Giuntalodi (but misattributed to Michelangelo Buonarroti (common phrase throughout 1500's)). -
"Love work; hate mastery over others; and avoid intimacy with the government."
—Shemaya, in the Thalmud -
"It is a pleasant world we live in, sir, a very pleasant world. There are bad people in it, Mr. Richard, but if there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers."
—Charles Dickens, “The Old Curiosity Shop ... With a Frontispiece. From a Painting by Geo. Cattermole, Etc.” 255 (1848) -
"A system of law that not only makes certain conduct criminal, but also lays down rules for the conduct of the authorities, often becomes complex in its application to individual cases, and will from time to time produce imperfect results, especially if one's attention is confined to the particular case at bar. Some criminals do go free because of the necessity of keeping government and its servants in their place. That is one of the costs of having and enforcing a Bill of Rights. This country is built on the assumption that the cost is worth paying, and that in the long run we are all both freer and safer if the Constitution is strictly enforced."
—Williams v. Nix, 700 F. 2d 1164, 1173 (8th Cir. 1983) (Richard Sheppard Arnold, J.), rev'd Nix v. Williams, 467 US. 431 (1984). -
"The criminal goes free, if he must, but it is the law that sets him free. Nothing can destroy a government more quickly than its failure to observe its own laws, or worse, its disregard of the charter of its own existence."
—Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 659 (1961). -
"Any costs the exclusionary rule are costs imposed directly by the Fourth Amendment."
—Yale Kamisar, 86 Mich.L.Rev. 1, 36 n. 151 (1987). -
"There have been powerful hydraulic pressures throughout our history that bear heavily on the Court to water down constitutional guarantees and give the police the upper hand. That hydraulic pressure has probably never been greater than it is today."
— Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 39 (1968) (Douglas, J., dissenting). -
"The great end, for which men entered into society, was to secure their property."
—Entick v. Carrington, 19 How.St.Tr. 1029, 1066, 95 Eng. Rep. 807 (C.P. 1765) -
"It is a fair summary of history to say that the safeguards of liberty have frequently been forged in controversies involving not very nice people. And so, while we are concerned here with a shabby defrauder, we must deal with his case in the context of what are really the great themes expressed by the Fourth Amendment."
—United States v. Rabinowitz, 339 U.S. 56, 69 (1950) (Frankfurter, J., dissenting) -
"The course of true law pertaining to searches and seizures, as enunciated here, has not–to put it mildly–run smooth."
—Chapman v. United States, 365 U.S. 610, 618 (1961) (Frankfurter, J., concurring). -
"A search is a search, even if it happens to disclose nothing but the bottom of a turntable."
—Arizona v. Hicks, 480 U.S. 321, 325 (1987) -
"For the Fourth Amendment protects people, not places. What a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in his own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection. ... But what he seeks to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected."
—Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 351 (1967) -
“Experience should teach us to be most on guard to protect liberty when the Government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded
rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.”
—United States v. Olmstead, 277 U.S. 438, 479 (1925) (Brandeis, J., dissenting)
-
“Liberty—the freedom from unwarranted intrusion by government—is as easily lost through insistent nibbles by government officials who seek to do their jobs too well as by those whose purpose it is to oppress; the piranha can be as deadly as the shark.”
—United States v. $124,570, 873 F.2d 1240, 1246 (9th Cir. 1989) -
"You can't always get what you want / But if you try sometimes / You just might find / You get what you need."
—Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, Let it Bleed (album, 1969) -
"In Germany, they first came for the communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for
the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Catholic. Then they came
for me–and by that time there was nobody left to speak up."
—Martin Niemöller (1945) [he served seven years in a concentration camp] -
“Children grow up thinking the adult world is ordered, rational, fit for purpose. It’s crap. Becoming a man is realising that it’s all rotten. Realising how to celebrate that rottenness, that’s freedom.”
– John le Carré, The Night Manager (1993), line by Richard Roper -
"The point of the Fourth Amendment, which often is not grasped by zealous officers, is not that it denies law enforcement the support of the usual inferences which reasonable men draw from evidence. Its protection consists in requiring that those inferences be drawn by a neutral and detached magistrate instead of being judged by the officer engaged in the often competitive enterprise of ferreting out crime."
—Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 13-14 (1948) -
The book was dedicated in the first (1982) and sixth (2025) editions to Justin William Hall (1975-2025). He was three when this project started in 1978.
Website design by Wally Waller, Colorado Springs. 
Author Archives: Hall
D.Minn.: Even if stop was without RS, eluding police gave it
Even if there was no reasonable suspicion for defendant’s stop, his new offense of eluding the police justified it. United States v. Denton, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170669 (D. Minn. Sep. 23, 2024).* The affidavit for this warrant shows probable … Continue reading
D.Or.: The reporting requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act of 2021 do not violate the 4A or 5A
The reporting requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act of 2021 31 U.S.C. § 5336 do not violate the Fourth or Fifth Amendment under California Bankers Assn. v. Shutlz. Firestone v. Yellen, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170085 (D. Or. Sep. 20, … Continue reading
NYT: N.Y.P.D. Unwilling to Discipline Officers for Stop and Frisk, Report Says
NYT: N.Y.P.D. Unwilling to Discipline Officers for Stop and Frisk, Report Says by Benjamin Weiser & Maria Cramer (“The department’s discipline for illegal street detentions is lax at every level, according to an extraordinary review ordered by a federal judge.”) … Continue reading
IL: No REP in ER trauma room
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in a hospital ER trauma room, even though there is under state precedent in a single bedroom. People v. Turner, 2024 IL 129208, 2024 Ill. LEXIS 469 (Sept. 19, 2024). Defendant argued that … Continue reading
IL: With MJ decrim, smell of MJ no longer PC
With decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana, the smell of marijuana in a car is no longer probable cause to search. People v. Redmond, 2024 IL 129201, 2024 Ill. LEXIS 464 (Sep. 19, 2024). See techdirt: Court Reminds Cops That … Continue reading
D.Neb.: SW for property not overbroad and sought in GF; it objectively was a single-family home
The officers did their due diligence before the search warrant and saw only that defendant’s property was a single-family dwelling. That’s how it appeared, that’s what public records said. Therefore, they searched in good faith. United States v. Rice, 2024 … Continue reading
W.D.Pa.: Electronic devices seized in California could be searched in Pennsylvania
Electronic devices seized in California could be searched in Pennsylvania. United States v. Carter, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168014 (W.D. Pa. Sep. 18, 2024). Under established precedent, the smell of marijuana alone coming from defendant’s car permits a search of … Continue reading
OR: The burden on whether the affidavit was with the warrant at the search is on defendant
When the affidavit satisfies particularity but the defendant alleges the warrant doesn’t, he has the burden of proving that both were not attached to each other or at the scene of the search for guidance. State v. Goode, 335 Or. … Continue reading
CA9: Inventory of backpack of just released suspect was still reasonable
Defendant was arrested on suspicion of murder, and his backpack was put in the police car. His backpack was briefly searched and nothing was found. He was released after questioning, but his backpack was subjected to a later inventory which … Continue reading
GA: Swabbing handcuffed arrestee’s hands for DNA valid as SI
Swabbing defendant’s hands for DNA while he was handcuffed in an interrogation room was valid as search incident. The DNA was easily destroyed. (Thus exigency too.) Gonzalez v. State, 2024 Ga. LEXIS 203 (Sep. 17, 2024). An warrant still in … Continue reading
CA11: Being on a no-fly list wasn’t RS on highway
Plaintiff’s being on a no-fly list wasn’t reasonable suspicion to detain him on the highway. Meshal v. Commissioner, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 23486 (11th Cir. Sep. 16, 2024). “[T]he officer did not violate the Fourth Amendment because his warrantless entry … Continue reading
W.D.Mo.: Use of stop sticks was a reasonable seizure and with RS
“The Court finds that when Officers Zinn and Jasso placed the stop sticks and attempted to remove the subject from his vehicle, they had a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the individual behind the wheel of the Dodge Charger was involved … Continue reading
N.D.Ind.: Cell phones are “tools of the trade” of drug dealing, so nexus is minimal [actually, practically non-existent]
While cell phones are “tools of the trade” of drug dealing, they usually can be swept up in a search warrant for the premises. While that works in drug cases, there should be caution in other types of cases. United … Continue reading
D.Minn.: “Cars on the property” was particular enough for SW
“Cars on the property” was particular enough for the search warrant for defendant’s property. United States v. Stucky, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166040 (D. Minn. Sep. 16, 2024). Plaintiff inmate stated enough to proceed that he was subjected to harassing … Continue reading
CA9: Kneeling on arrestee’s back so he can’t breathe violates clearly established law
The officers’ kneeling on plaintiff’s back to secure him to the point plaintiff complained he couldn’t breathe violated clearly established law. Spencer v. Pew, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 23463 (9th Cir. Sep. 16, 2024). The dash cam shows that defendant’s … Continue reading
Brownstone Institute: A Fourth Amendment for the 21st century
Brownstone Institute: A Fourth Amendment for the 21st century by Daniel Nuncio (“‘Twentieth-century Fourth Amendment law was really written for a world before computers,’ stated Reilly Stephens, an attorney with the Liberty Justice Center, in an early September interview. ‘It … Continue reading
Natl. L. Rev.: The Reasonableness of Retaining Personal Property Post-Seizure and the Ascendancy of Text, History, and Tradition in Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence
Natl. L. Rev.: The Reasonableness of Retaining Personal Property Post-Seizure and the Ascendancy of Text, History, and Tradition in Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence by Ty E. Howard [the case is posted here]:
Five on habeas
NYPD used a tracking order based on exigency followed by a written order to locate him. This was not shown to be an unconscionable breakdown in the process for Stone purposes. Also, his phone calls from Rikers were validly recorded. … Continue reading