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- Reason: Miami Sheriff Hired a Private Law Firm To Pursue—and Profit From—Asset Forfeiture Cases
- D.Conn.: Pole camera on def’s house and curtilage didn’t show inside house, so it’s reasonable
- OH12: Officer’s violation of knock-and-announce statute justifies suppression
- Reason: Documents Reveal the Postal Service’s Broad Surveillance of Political Activists
- CA4: Not having child in a booster seat justified stop
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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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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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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
SF Chronicle: Jeff Adachi case: Judge quashes SFPD warrant used to search journalist’s phone
SF Chronicle: Jeff Adachi case: Judge quashes SFPD warrant used to search journalist’s phone by Megan Cassidy: A judge on Thursday quashed a search warrant used by San Francisco police to search a journalist’s phone in what was part of … Continue reading
E.D.Va.: No evidence defendant “is a collector of child pornography,” so no PC; remanded for factual determination of GFE
The government did not show probable cause to believe that child pornography was on defendant’s electronic devices. The officer’s experience is one thing, but no facts suggest that defendant “is a collector of child pornography.” The record is inadequate to … Continue reading
MA: PC was shown for cell phone search on admission there were timely videos that could help explain
There was probable cause for a search warrant for photos and videos on defendant’s cell phone in a home invasion case based on all the evidence in the case to that point and, pointedly, admission there were videos on the … Continue reading
N.D.Ill.: Moving place of search of belongings away from alley where def was arrested to inside wasn’t unreasonable
Officers had a warrant for defendant’s person and belongings. It wasn’t unreasonable to move the place of the search from the alley where he was arrested inside, even as a search incident. United States v. Sanchez, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS … Continue reading
CA4: Denial of cross examination into alleged falsity in SW affidavit where the product was never used was irrelevant or harmless
The district court didn’t err in holding cross-examination about alleged falsities in a search warrant affidavit where the product of the search was never admitted at trial. Also, in light of all the proof, it was harmless at best. United … Continue reading
E.D.Tenn.: Def’s mother did not have joint control over a trailer he lived in on her property; officers at minimum should have inquired more
Defendant lived on property with his mother, but he was in a trailer. It was unreasonable for officers to believe that she had joint control over his part of the property. At best, the situation was such that officers should … Continue reading
PA: Birchfield doesn’t prevent evidence of refusal
“[W]e conclude the ‘evidentiary consequence’ provided by Section 1547(e) for refusing to submit to a warrantless blood test — the admission of that refusal at a subsequent trial for DUI — remains constitutionally permissible post-Birchfield. We therefore affirm the order … Continue reading
E.D.N.Y.: Facebook SW was far too broad, but court declines to decide 4A question and goes with GFE instead
This Facebook warrant just seeks way, way too much information when it could have been far more narrowly tailored. “That said, the court need not decide whether the Facebook Warrant violated the Fourth Amendment because, even if it did, the … Continue reading
Forbes: Cop Who Accidentally Shot 10-Year-Old When Aiming For Family Dog Can’t Be Sued, Federal Court Rules
Forbes: Cop Who Accidentally Shot 10-Year-Old When Aiming For Family Dog Can’t Be Sued, Federal Court Rules by Nick Sibilla:
Bloomberg: You’re Home Alone With Alexa. Are Your Secrets Safe?
Bloomberg: You’re Home Alone With Alexa. Are Your Secrets Safe? by Matt Day
PA: Refusal to submit to a test is admissible under Birchfield
“[W]e conclude the ‘evidentiary consequence’ provided by Section 1547(e) for refusing to submit to a warrantless blood test — the admission of that refusal at a subsequent trial for DUI — remains constitutionally permissible post-Birchfield. We therefore affirm the order … Continue reading
NBC2 News: Can police search your car for medical marijuana after you leave a dispensary?
NBC2 News: Can police search your car for medical marijuana after you leave a dispensary? by Delia D’Ambra: Attorneys are becoming concerned these patients could fall victim to law enforcement overreach and have their rights violated and not even know … Continue reading
PA: Motions for return of property seized by SW are addressed to judge supervising the GJ that sought them
Motions for return of property seized by search warrant issued for a Statewide Investigating Grand Jury are to be addressed to the judge supervising the grand jury. In re Return of Seized Property, 2019 Pa. LEXIS 3845 (July 17, 2019). … Continue reading
CA8: Package with anticipatory SW was placed back on porch with “return to sender” on it; search still constitutionally sufficient
In this anticipatory warrant case, the package was received, but it was placed back outside with “return to sender” written on it. Still, the warrant was constitutionally sufficient and the officers supplying their own triggering event, one not provided for … Continue reading
Immigration Blog: When May ICE Agents Enter Residences or Private Premises to Make Arrests?
Immigration Blog: When May ICE Agents Enter Residences or Private Premises to Make Arrests? by Dan Cadman:
CA7 declines to reinstate a 4A jail strip search claim after 8A claim went to trial; SCOTUS needs to decide
Plaintiff female prisoners filed a Fourth Amendment and Eighth Amendment claim against a jail for what they alleged was an invasion of privacy by an unjustified group strip search. The district court granted summary judgment against them on the Fourth … Continue reading
N.D.Ill.: The exclusionary rule does not apply in a § 1983 suit against police officers
The exclusionary rule does not apply in a § 1983 suit against police officers. Mayo v. Lasalle County, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117667 (N.D. Ill. July 15, 2019).* The court concludes defendant didn’t just drop his backpack when confronted by … Continue reading
TX14: The exclusionary rule does not apply to drug testing in a termination of parental rights case
The exclusionary rule does not apply to drug testing in a termination of parental rights case. In the Interest of L.C.L., 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 6018 (Tex. App. – Houston (14th Dist.) July 16, 2019). The smell of marijuana during … Continue reading
IN: When AE applies, the fact def walked away from the car doesn’t prevent search
Where there was probable cause and the automobile exception applied, the fact defendant walked away from the vehicle didn’t prohibit its search. Cleveland v. State, 2019 Ind. App. LEXIS 316 (July 15, 2019). Defendant was apparently asleep parked in an … Continue reading