Archives
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Recent Posts
- D.Alaska: With a SW for a cell phone, officers should ask, not make, def to open the phone with his finger
- CA2: Statement there was CP on computer was PC to seize it for a SW
- 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
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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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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)
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"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
S.D.N.Y.: RS parolee is into drugs justifies PO’s cell phone search
State parole officers with reasonable suspicion defendant was involved in drugs could seize and search his cell phone. United States v. Devaughn, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5406 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 11, 2022). There was no reasonable suspicion for a probation search … Continue reading
MT: Probation search was justified; its overall reasonableness didn’t warrant suppression here
There was reasonable suspicion for the probation search of defendant’s house based on his wife’s report that he was using meth again. The supervisory PO authorized a warrantless entry if necessary. The record is limited as to the reasonableness of … Continue reading
N.D.Tex.: Knock-and-talk led to a consent search
Defendant’s knock-and-talk led to a consent search. “Courts consider six primary factors to determine whether consent to a search is knowing and voluntary: (1) the voluntariness of the defendant’s custodial status; (2) presence of coercive police procedures; (3) the extent … Continue reading
MS: Open fields covered by state const.; warrant required for administrative search
A warrant is required for administrative searches under the Mississippi constitution, which also protects all land owned by the complainant, including open fields. Plain view is inapplicable here. The exclusionary rule applies to this administrative search and seizure. Okhuysen v. … Continue reading
M.D.Pa.: Failure to completely follow inventory policy doesn’t require suppression
The inventory here wasn’t complete because defendant’s cell phone wasn’t in the inventory and apparently left behind. [Now that’s ironic.] A gun and ammunition were. Because they are dangerous instrumentalities, that makes the inventory reasonable. “It is not obvious to … Continue reading
M.D.Fla.: Facebook capturing CP was private search; its ToS show no REP
Facebook’s passing on suspected child pornography on its platform is a private search. Moreover, Facebook’s terms of service show a lack of a reasonable expectation of privacy for child porn. United States v. Montijo, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4577 (M.D.Fla. … Continue reading
EFF brief: Court Orders Authorizing Law Enforcement To Track People’s Air Travels In Real Time Must Be Made Public
EFF: Court Orders Authorizing Law Enforcement To Track People’s Air Travels In Real Time Must Be Made Public by Aaron Mackey:
S.D.Cal. gives helpful explanation of application of Heck bar
A helpful explanation of the Heck bar to Fourth Amendment claims is Cordova v. Imperial Cnty. Narcotics Task Force, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3993 (S.D.Cal. Jan. 7, 2022).* Plaintiff lost her excessive force claim, and the defendants sought attorneys fees … Continue reading
D.Neb.: Inventory reasonable and followed SOP despite officer’s expectation to find evidence of crime
The inventory here was reasonable despite the fact the officer suspected illegal items in the vehicle. A criminal search was not the sole motivating factor, and the inventory followed SOPs. United States v. Nielsen, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 249611 (D.Neb. … Continue reading
D.Conn.: Arrest warrant permitted entry into def’s house to attempt to locate him
Defendant was on the lam, and officers, armed with an arrest warrant, entered his house thinking he’d returned there. He wasn’t but observations were made that led to a search warrant for the house. Motion to suppress denied. The arrest … Continue reading
E.D.Mo.: Third party to forfeiture can’t challenge search
Third parties to a forfeiture seeking to protect their interest have no standing to challenge legality of the seizure that led to the forfeiture. United States v. Koeln, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3934 (E.D.Mo. Jan. 10, 2022). Defendant’s felony arrest … Continue reading
CO: Particularity of cell phone SW was harmless error and didn’t even have to be decided
Defendant’s claim that his cell phone search warrant violated the particularity requirement does not have to be decided because, if error, it is harmless beyond a reasonable doubt on this record. Pettigrew v. People, 2022 CO 2, 2022 Colo. LEXIS … Continue reading
CA4: Unsigned SW was subject to GFE where it was readily apparent it was read and acted on
A state unsigned warrant was subject to the good faith exception where the issuing magistrate did everything but sign. The magistrate signed the application on the back of the state-mandated form and initialed the warrant. The court doesn’t go so … Continue reading
Cal.2: Firing of two LAPD police officers recorded in patrol car ignoring a robbery in progress upheld
Not a search and seizure case, but interesting, and compare this to arrestees recorded talking to each other or themselves in the back of a police car where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy: The firing of two LAPD … Continue reading
CA2: Def’s possession of multiple cell phones and drugs packaged for street sale created inference more in hotel room
The search of defendant’s person produced multiple cell phones and drugs packaged for street-level sale. There was a fair probability there would be more in his hotel room since drug dealers usually have a base of operations. United States v. … Continue reading
D.S.C.: Govt met its burden to keep SW papers sealed for a while longer
The government’s motion to seal for the time being the search warrant papers is granted. It could jeopardize an ongoing investigation, and alternative measures are inadequate at this point. In re United States, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 249503 (D.S.C. Dec. … Continue reading
D.Ariz.: Shooting incident 4 days earlier was RS
A shooting incident at a Tucson motel four days earlier led police to stop defendant in a car involved seen on motel video. That was reasonable suspicion. United States v. Castro, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 249438 (D.Ariz. Dec. 13, 2021).* … Continue reading
D.Conn.: CI was personally involved in info he provided, and he was further corroborated by an unrelated wiretap
The CI here was untested for prior reliability, but the information was detailed and had the CI’s personal involvement. Moreover, an unrelated wiretap provided some corroboration of the CI’s involvement. This probable cause finding is not a close call. If … Continue reading
MA: A computer check during a traffic stop would dispel any RS, and failure to do so was unreasonable
Defendant’s car had an inspection rejection sticker for safety defects, but state law grants a 60 day grace period for correction. A computer check would have answered any questions. “Accordingly, we conclude that whether the troopers’ suspicion was reasonable in … Continue reading
DC: Tripping up def as he fled an encounter was a seizure without RS
D.C. gun recovery unit (GRU) officers stopped and approached defendant in an alley to talk to him. He hesitated and ran, and they ultimately caught him. The stop lacked reasonable suspicion. “Mr. Mayo argues that the GRU officers seized him … Continue reading