Archives
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Recent Posts
- S.D.Iowa: Cell phone search for info on drugs and guns didn’t need second warrant when sex offenses stumbled upon
- 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
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Feedspot’s Best Legal Blogs and Websites 2023-2026,
also, firm website Top 90 Criminal Law Blogs 2026 -
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ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2015-17) (then discontinued)
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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) -
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Fourth Amendment cases, citations, and links -
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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
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General (many free):
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Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Resources
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (2008) (pdf)
DEA Agents Manual (2002) (download)
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Stringrays (ACLU No. Cal.) (pdf)
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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
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NACDL’s Domestic Drone Information Center
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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)
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“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
CA5: After a fire at def’s trailer, his false statements as to his whereabouts added to PC for SW for cell phone
Defendant lived at a trailer that burned, and a body was found inside. After it was determined that he gave false information about his whereabouts that day, state officers got a search warrant for his cell phone and location information. … Continue reading
Another AI pleading with made up caselaw
Pranshu Verma and Will Oremus, These lawyers used ChatGPT to save time. They got fired and fined. (Wash. Post Nov. 16, 2023) (“Artificial intelligence is changing how law is practiced, but not always for the better”). That’s the lead but … Continue reading
IN: Patdown of man in medical distress before paramedics arrived was reasonable
Defendant’s patdown search when he was found lying in a parking lot in medical distress was objectively reasonable as an emergency search, if just for what was on him before paramedics arrived. Meth was found. Lack of a separate state … Continue reading
S.D.Ind.: When a crime occurs in a car in front of the passengers, it’s reasonable to infer they were involved for PC purposes
When a suspected crime occurs in a car in front of the passengers, it is reasonable to infer, for probable cause purposes, that they are involved, comparing Di Re (1947) and Pringle (2003). United States v. Groves, 2023 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
CA6: SW’s minor error in naming place to be searched did not entitle ptf to relief; qualified immunity applies
A minor error in the address of the place to be searched could be overlooked because only the right place was searched. There is still qualified immunity. Neal El v. Valasek, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 30000 (6th Cir. Nov. 9, … Continue reading
E.D.N.C.: Even if search preceded arrival of SW, independent source applied
Even if the search preceded the warrant being issued, the decision was already made and the independent source doctrine validates the search. United States v. Ellis, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 202209 (E.D.N.C. Oct. 20, 2023), adopted, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS … Continue reading
E.D.N.C.: Posting political candidate’s address online violated no REP
A candidate running for office had his address posted online, and this did not violate any reasonable expectation of privacy or Fourth Amendment right. His voter registration address was already online. Sharma v. Hirsch, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 202163 (E.D.N.C. … Continue reading
M.D.Pa.: Car company with security interest had claim for alleged illegal disposal of seized car
A motorist was stopped and searched and his car was seized, towed, and impounded. Later it was sold by the towing company for expenses. Toyota had a security interest in it. Toyota stated a claim for loss of the car. … Continue reading
D.Vt.: Delay in searching one cell phone here leads to suppression but not as to a second one
Considering the four factors to consider in the delay in searching defendant’s cell phone, all the factors favor him. As to the exclusionary rule, “Because there is an ‘appreciable deterrent value’ in suppressing the evidence from the 9/15/22 Warrant, as … Continue reading
N.D.Tex.: Protective sweep of meth lab property was objectively reasonable
The officers’ protective sweep of a property with a working meth lab was objectively reasonable. United States v. Moreno, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 201424 (N.D. Tex. Nov. 9, 2023). Defendant’s cell phone was used during the period the rape victim … Continue reading
S.D.Tex.: Strip clubs aren’t “closely regulated businesses” for administrative searches
“In 2007, the Texas Legislature instituted the Sexually Oriented Business Fee Act (‘the SOBF’)” which requires admission fees into strip clubs and records inspections. A sexually oriented business is not one of those that can be “closely regulated” for administrative … Continue reading
WV: A summons is not a 4A seizure
Claiming plaintiff was “forced to turn himself in” on a summons didn’t state a claim for a Fourth Amendment seizure. State ex rel. Atty.-Gen. v. Ballard, 2023 W. Va. LEXIS 473 (Nov. 9, 2023). “The warrant in this case listed … Continue reading
WV: State did not justify “officer safety” as reason for entry
The state failed to justify the entry here on officer safety grounds because their neighbor disturbance call included no reference to potential violence or threats and no good reason could be articulated other than “officer safety” which essentially is always … Continue reading
PA: Car and phone were abandoned after police chase
Defendant was allegedly driving his car, fled a police stop and crashed into another car. He fled and abandoned the car leaving his cell phone inside. He reported it stolen the next morning, but that proved to be false. The … Continue reading
E.D.Ky.: Overnight guest ordered out no longer had REP
Defendant was an overnight guest, but the homeowner told him to get out and called the police on him because he was tearing the place up. “The Court finds it doubtful that “society is prepared to recognize as reasonable” Starghill’s … Continue reading
AR: Probation search waiver can be required in suspended sentences, too
The state probation search waiver statute doesn’t refer to suspended sentences, but the court has the power to impose it there, too, even without a supervision requirement. Johnson v. State, 2023 Ark. App. 509 (Nov. 8, 2023). The dog sniff … Continue reading
CA4: Clerk’s failure to file and stamp warrants not a 4A violation
The alleged failure of the clerk of court to file and stamp warrants was not a Fourth Amendment claim for a § 1983 case. Jordan v. Newman, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 29766 (4th Cir. Nov. 8, 2023). The taking of … Continue reading
N.D.Cal.: City policy of towing and impounding vehicles for fees owed violated 4A of lessor
Plaintiff leased a vehicle to a motorist who got behind in payments. By the time it was ready to repossess, VW Credit found out that the city had the car towed and held by a towing company which refused to … Continue reading
IA: A drug pipe in def’s possession doesn’t help show PC for DWI (but other evidence did)
“But while the drug pipe in the passenger’s pocket does not lend support for probable cause that Roe was operating while intoxicated, excluding this evidence from consideration is not fatal to the warrant as Roe’s other arguments on the lack … Continue reading