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- W.D.N.Y.: No IAC for not challenging search without standing
- CAAF: Victim’s 4A rights were at issue, too
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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) -
“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. 
Category Archives: Good faith exception
W.D.Wis.: Jurisdictional issue in SW wasn’t enough to suppress here
In a domestic terrorism investigation, USMJs have the authority to issue search warrants outside their court’s jurisdiction. Defendant disputes that this investigation was not that, but it’s close enough. Even if the officers were mistaken, the court won’t suppress an … Continue reading
The good faith exception: United States v. Leon decided 40 years ago today
United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S. Ct. 3405, 82 L. Ed. 2d 677 (July 5, 1984). It made my job easier. It’s far easier to tell whether an affidavit for search warrant will survive a motion to suppress. 1) … Continue reading
E.D.La.: SW for def’s surveillance video had no PC for weapons search; suppressed
Police got a search warrant for the DVR and storage for defendant’s surveillance camera that likely could have caught a homicide across the street. The warrant included weapons and ammunition when there was no justification for it. The warrant lacked … Continue reading
CA6: Minimally sufficient nexus was GF for relying on SW
Relying on Sanders, decided June 28, the court concludes that a drug dealer’s home along with the slightest facts provides a good faith basis for searching with a warrant. United States v. Neal, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 15997 (6th Cir. … Continue reading
GA: Even if judge lacked out-of-state jurisdiction for a social media SW, it was relied on in good faith
Even if the judge signing the Kik warrant wasn’t the right one, the warrant was still executed in good faith. Zayac v. State, 2024 Ga. App. LEXIS 271 (June 27, 2024). The officer in a shooting case gets qualified immunity … Continue reading
E.D.Cal.: Motion to reconsider motion to suppress has to be consistent with original motion; new claim waived
The motion to reconsider defendant’s Fourth Amendment claim was inconsistent with the motion to reconsider. No. United States v. Garza, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112102 (E.D. Cal. June 25, 2024). Defendant’s 2255 on his Fourth Amendment is barred by Stone … Continue reading
S.D.Miss.: Drug SW permitted search of a safe even though not specified
This drug search warrant didn’t mention a safe, but that was a place where they could be found, so the search was proper. Also, the good faith exception applies. United States v. Manning, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109676 (S.D. Miss. … Continue reading
ID: Still reasonable to rerun LPN information during stop, having done it earlier in day
Earlier in the day before the traffic stop, the officer had already run defendant’s LPN. It was reasonable to do it again during the stop, and this did not unconstitutionally lengthen the stop. State v. Tranmer, 2024 Ida. App. LEXIS … Continue reading
S.D.Ind.: GFE of law at the time of the search meant no IAC
“Counsel did not perform deficiently when they raised the Fourth Amendment argument [under applicable law at the time], even though this Court and the Seventh Circuit found that the good faith applied.” Castro-Aguirre v. United States, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS … Continue reading
Cal.1: GFE applied to probation search term
The good faith exception applied to defendant’s probation search. The officer checked and reasonably concluded that defendant was still on searchable probation at the time. People v. Pritchett, 2024 Cal. App. LEXIS 348 (1st Dist. May 8, 2024), certified for … Continue reading
CA2: Unlicensed and uninsured motorcycle parked on street was subject to community caretaking function when def was arrested
“Because Owens’s motorcycle was on a public street with no displayed license plate and was uninsured, the community caretaking function applied, even though it was parked at the time of his arrest.” Owens v. Fitzgerald, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 12292 … Continue reading
CA4: When PC and GFE are the issue on appeal, both have to be appealed or it’s waiver
“In his first claim, Juarez-Sanchez argues that two search warrants issued in this case were not supported by probable cause. Below, the district court rejected this argument and, in the alternative, held that the good faith exception to the exclusionary … Continue reading
OH5: Cell phone SW was not particular, GFE doesn’t apply, but harmless after all
The cell phone search warrant here failed particularity: “permitted a sweeping, comprehensive search of Hikec’s cell phone with no meaningful limits”, and the good faith exception doesn’t apply. On this record, however, it was harmless error in light of other … Continue reading
D.Kan.: Drug dog touching car door handle with nose isn’t unreasonable search
The drug dog touching the vehicle door handle with its nose was not an unreasonable search. United States v. Green, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88401 (D. Kan. May 16, 2024). Defendant’s 2255 wasn’t timely. “Even if Williams’s motion were timely, … Continue reading
GA grants review of geofence and GFE case
Georgia has granted review of a geofence warrant case, including whether its prior case law holding the good faith exception was limited should be overruled. Jones v. State, 2024 Ga. LEXIS 110 (May 9, 2024)*:
FL3: Cell phone dump in civil case denied; no showing of need
In a civil case, the court granted a writ of certiorari against the trial court’s order permitting access to a party’s cell phone by forensic imaging. “We recognize, of course, that Swezy is not altogether foreclosed from seeking electronically stored … Continue reading
E.D.Va.: Must plead prejudice when delay of a cell phone SW is alleged
Defendant’s cell phone was validly seized by the police but they didn’t get a warrant until nine months later. He says it’s a “clear violation” of the Fourth Amendment but he doesn’t allege any prejudice. Denied. United States v. Campbell, … Continue reading
M.D.Pa.: Def was neither shipper nor recipient of USPS parcel, so he had no standing in it
Defendant was neither the shipper nor recipient of a USPS parcel with drugs in it, opened six weeks after it was unclaimed. He had no standing in it. United States v. Bell, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78182 (M.D. Pa. Apr. … Continue reading
W.D.Ky.: Illegal stop that was suppressed not excluded in § 1983 case
“Although the marijuana in Codrington’s car was discovered through an unreasonable search, that is immaterial to the Court’s analysis because the Fourth Amendment’s exclusionary rule does not apply to § 1983 proceedings. As long as the marijuana found in Codrington’s … Continue reading
E.D.Ky.: When court can’t tell the dog alerted, motion to suppress granted
The court reviewing the dashcam video repeatedly cannot tell that the dog alerts at all. Motion to suppress granted. United States v. Edmonds, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74570 (E.D. Ky. Apr. 24, 2024). Update: techdirt: Court To Cops: If We … Continue reading