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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)
--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
CA11: Hot pursuit of a misdemeanant into a dwelling is permitted by the 4A
Hot pursuit of a misdemeanant into a dwelling is permitted by the Fourth Amendment, and observation of drugs was valid. United States v. Concepcion, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 25001 (11th Cir. Sep. 4, 2018). Defendant’s claim that his confession was … Continue reading
NC: Car parked on street was not on the curtilage
A car parked on the street next to a house was not on the curtilage as a matter of law. Based on undisputed facts in the record, however, the officer had probable cause to search the car on the street. … Continue reading
CA6: SWAT team surrounding a house for a knock-and-talk violates 4A
Sending the SWAT team to surround a house for a knock-and-talk violated the Fourth Amendment. Having officers in the backyard for officer safety may serve that function, but it’s still a violation of the curtilage under the Fourth Amendment. There … Continue reading
E.D.Cal.: Def succeeds in a Franks challenge
Defendant succeeds in a Franks challenge. Removing the offending portions leaves no probable cause. United States v. Kastis, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148480 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 31, 2018):*
W.D.Mich.: Def standing next door wasn’t on his property when the SW was executed at his house and could not be detained
A search warrant was issued for defendant’s house for two buys from it: one an hour earlier, and another a week earlier. The warrant authorized detention and search of persons found there. When 19 officers showed up to serve the … Continue reading
NC reverse to satellite monitoring sex offender conditions for lack of findings
“The trial court ordered Defendant Aaron Lee Gordon to enroll in lifetime satellite-based monitoring following his eventual release from prison. Defendant appeals. Because the State cannot establish at this time that Defendant’s submission to satellite-based monitoring will constitute a reasonable … Continue reading
N.D.Ill.: Shots fired 911 call and citizen report led to car; protective sweep of back seat was permissible
Chicago police officers received a man on the street report (treated as anonymous but reliable) that shots were just fired from a particular vehicle. There were also 911 calls about the shots. The vehicle was shortly seen, and that was … Continue reading
CA6: Known felon answered his door wearing an empty holster and admitted the gun was inside; that’s probable cause
Defendant was a felon, and he came to the door wearing an empty holster. He admitted there was a gun in the house. “Here, the officers obtained a search warrant to search the home, including for firearms. The district court … Continue reading
The Hill: Brett Kavanaugh’s views on privacy and the Fourth Amendment should make Republicans think twice
The Hill: Brett Kavanaugh’s views on privacy and the Fourth Amendment should make Republicans think twice by Michael MacLeod Ball:
Ars Technica: Cheese danish shipping, warrantless GPS trackers, and a border doctrine challenge
Ars Technica: Cheese danish shipping, warrantless GPS trackers, and a border doctrine challenge BY Cyrus Farivar:
NV erroneously puts burden on def to show that a warrantless entry to a locked bedroom was unreasonable and not a private search
Police were called to a house and the owner wanted the police to enter and search a locked room occupied by another adult with permission from the owner to stay there. The officer declined because defendant had reasonable expectation of … Continue reading
NV: Def lived with uncle, and uncle lacked apparent authority to consent to a search of his room
Defendant was allegedly involved in a hit and run accident with injury. A license plate fell off his car and was found at the scene of the accident. An officer went to his address and found the apparent damaged vehicle … Continue reading
FL4: Florida law requires the officer claiming plain feel has to show his or her knowledge supports the apparent likelihood of drugs
“Here, the state failed to elicit evidence regarding the officer’s experience with drug containers and his prior use of tactile perception to identify contraband. The officer did not feel any plantlike material in T.T.’s pants. Moreover, he did not testify … Continue reading
MA: Even if some information in CSLI affidavit was incorrect or false, redacting it still leaves PC
The search warrant for defendant’s CSLI was based on probable cause. Defendant challenges parts of the information as wholly inadequate to show probable cause. Redacting that information, however, still leaves probable cause. Commonwealth v. Robertson, 2018 Mass. LEXIS 563 (Aug. … Continue reading
M.D.Tenn.: A delivery one week before the SW was supported by 3 known prior sales in 4 months
“Here, the last purchase was made one week before the application for the search warrant. By itself, this does not render the information from the CI stale. … Besides, ‘even if a significant period of time elapsed, it is possible … Continue reading
WaPo: Two black pastors wanted help with a flat tire. A sheriff’s deputy asked if they had guns or drugs.
WaPo: Two black pastors wanted help with a flat tire. A sheriff’s deputy asked if they had guns or drugs. by Taylor Telford: Now an investigation of possible profiling.
S.D.N.Y.: Def has to show standing, and he can’t rely on affidavit for SW to do it
Defendant moved to suppress a Facebook search warrant for an account ostensibly in his name. A total of ten Facebook warrants were issued. Defendant did not file an affidavit claiming the Facebook account was his, and he cannot rely on … Continue reading
W.D.Va.: Stopping ptf for giving cop “the finger” violates clearly established 4A law
Stopping plaintiff merely for giving a police officer the finger violates clearly established Fourth Amendment law. Clark v. Coleman, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136749 (W.D. Va. Aug. 14, 2018):
engadget: New lawsuit shows your phone is unsafe at American borders
engadget: New lawsuit shows your phone is unsafe at American borders by Violet Blue: CBP = Customs and Border Profiling
NYLJ: NYPD Stop-and-Frisk Litigation Plaintiffs Say Confidentiality Order Would Erode Transparency
NYLJ: NYPD Stop-and-Frisk Litigation Plaintiffs Say Confidentiality Order Would Erode Transparency by Andrew Denney: Plaintiffs in the stop-and-frisk litigation against the New York City Police Department said that a federal monitor’s proposed confidentiality order would hide key data, such as … Continue reading