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- W.D.N.Y.: No due process right to adversarial hearing before issuance of a DNA warrant
- E.D.Wis.: Lifetime GPS monitoring of some sex offenders traveling out of state doesn’t violate 4A
- CA9: With a SW for a murder weapon, a frisk of the occupants is reasonable
- W.D.Mich.: Drug dealers commonly keep proceeds and drugs at home, and that’s nexus
- OH8: For Rodriguez purposes, checking out-of-state DLs just takes longer
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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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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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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
The Hill: Leaked immigration proposal could affect all foreigners in US
The Hill: Leaked immigration proposal could affect all foreigners in US by Raphael Bernal:
NY: Shoplifting custodial arrest justified impoundment and towing of def’s car
Defendant drove to a store and was custodially arrested there for shoplifting. Towing and inventory of his vehicle off their parking lot was reasonable. A valid inventory followed. People v. Tardi, 2016 NY Slip Op 07822, 2016 N.Y. LEXIS 3535 … Continue reading
E.D.N.Y.: Finding NYPD officers were “embroidering the truth” about their RS, court finds it elsewhere
The court finds reasonable suspicion for a stop and frisk but not on the grounds offered – the officers were “embroidering the truth” about an alleged parking violation and the smell of marijuana. United States v. Levy, 2016 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
NYLJ: NYPD Finally Set to Begin Use of Body Cameras, Monitor Says
NYLJ: NYPD Finally Set to Begin Use of Body Cameras, Monitor Says by Mark Hamblett:
Naked Security: Campaigners bid to delay Rule 41 ‘legal hacking’ bill
Naked Security: Campaigners bid to delay Rule 41 ‘legal hacking’ bill by Lisa Vaas:
VT: Probation officer’s home visit is not a search
A probation officer’s home visit is not a search. Levitt v. State, 2016 VT 60, ¶ 32. State v. Albarelli, 2016 VT 119, 2016 Vt. LEXIS 121 (Nov. 18, 2016). The DUI roadblock in this case was established in accord … Continue reading
S.D.Ohio: More than a conclusory statement of recklessness or intent required for Franks hearing
Just because information is erroneous doesn’t get you a Franks hearing. More than a mere conclusion is required that the statement was recklessly or deliberately false. United States v. Kurtz, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160356 (S.D.Ohio Nov. 18, 2016). Defendant … Continue reading
FL2: 12 year old accosted for no reason didn’t voluntarily consent
Police searched two 12 year old boys playing in the grassy common area of their mobile home park. Their alleged consent was involuntary because of their young age and no reason to accost them in the first place. Marijuana was … Continue reading
WV: Protective weapons search of def’s pants on ground while EMTs treating him was reasonable
Defendant had been patted down and nothing was found, but he was wounded and EMTs were there. His pants were removed, and he was being treated. Before the ambulance took him away, he asked for his pants and the officer … Continue reading
E.D.Tenn.: Def’s move with arm made officer grab his arm and then saw a holster; that’s RS
When defendant made a move with his arm, the officer could grab his arm for officer safety. That resulted in the officer seeing a holster and that justified a full search of the person. Ultimately, it was justified as incident … Continue reading
E.D.Mo.: Welfare check of def in car led to opening door and smelling MJ, and that’s PC
“But even if the police lacked probable cause to search the van immediately upon discovering it, the undersigned concludes that Officer Yadlosky was justified in opening the van door to check on the welfare of the occupant inside. Once the … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: Hearing on wire CI OD’ing inside was exigency for police entry
Officers sent in a wired CI to do a heroin deal, and it was apparent listening to the wire that the CI overdosed inside. The emergency aid exception applied to the police entry. United States v. Belser, 2016 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
HuffPo: Jeff Sessions Was Deemed Too Racist To Be A Federal Judge. He’ll Now Be Trump’s Attorney General.
HuffPo: Jeff Sessions Was Deemed Too Racist To Be A Federal Judge. He’ll Now Be Trump’s Attorney General. by Ryan Reilly: WASHINGTON ― The man who President-elect Donald Trump will nominate as the 84th attorney general of the United States … Continue reading
The Marshall Project: 8 Ways Jeff Sessions Could Change Criminal Justice
The Marshall Project: 8 Ways Jeff Sessions Could Change Criminal Justice by Eli Hager, Alsia Santo and Simone Weischselbaum: From police to prosecutions to prisons, the AG holds wide sway.
D.Nev.: In NV, a MMJ state, smell of marijuana is still PC, and legal possession doesn’t have to be discounted
Nevada is a medical marijuana state, and LEOs don’t have to discount legal possession of marijuana before continuing a stop based on smell. United States v. Harris, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 157902 (D.Nev. June 30, 2016), adopted, 2016 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
E.D.N.Y.: The exclusionary rule doesn’t [hardly ever] apply to violations of supervised release
The exclusionary rule does not apply to violations of supervised release, but it might be possible if the deterrence rationale could still apply sometimes, just not here. “Thus, just like in Scott, applying the rule would inhibit the government’s ability … Continue reading
N.D.Ind.: Steagald only applies to entries into dwellings of third parties and not the curtilage
Steagald only applies to entries into dwellings of third parties and not the curtilage. United States v. Mackin, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 156888 (N.D.Ind. Nov. 14, 2016):
WaPo: Police are using software to predict crime. Is it a ‘holy grail’ or biased against minorities?
WaPo: Police are using software to predict crime. Is it a ‘holy grail’ or biased against minorities? by Justin Jouvenal:
W.D.N.Y.: When a state search warrant is used in federal court, state officers retain the evidence pending trial
Suspected explosives shipped to defendant’s address and search finding them in the garage didn’t preclude searching the house as well since the package was shipped to defendant’s home. Because a state search warrant was executed, state officers were charged with … Continue reading