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ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2017); ABA Journal Blawg 100 (2015-16)
by John Wesley Hall
Criminal Defense Lawyer and
Search and seizure law consultant
Little Rock, Arkansas
Contact: forhall @ aol.com / The Book
www.johnwesleyhall.com© 2003-21,
online since Feb. 24, 2003
WebPage Visits: real non-robot hits since 2010; approx. about 30,000 posts since 2003~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fourth Amendment cases,
citations, and linksLatest Slip Opinions:
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FDsys, many district courts, other federal courts
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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $Research Links:
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Briefs online (but no amicus briefs)
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General (many free):
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Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Resources
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (2008) (pdf)
DEA Agents Manual (2002) (download)
DOJ Computer Search Manual (2009) (pdf)
Stringrays (ACLU No. Cal.) (pdf)
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
Privacy Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
NACDL’s Domestic Drone Information Center
Electronic Privacy Information Center
Criminal Appeal (post-conviction) (9th Cir.)
Section 1983 Blog"If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. It isn't, and they don't."
—Me“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"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"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]“You know, most men would get discouraged by now. Fortunately for you, I am not most men!”
"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."
---Pepé Le Pew
—Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 13-14 (1948)
Website design by Wally Waller, Little Rock
Category Archives: Digital privacy
Nothing online is anonymous; especially Zoom
There’s no Fourth Amendment issue raised here, but this is a particularly ugly child pornography case involving live child rape broadcast by Zoom. Police gathered sign-in and logs from Zoom used to share the child pornography. It was captured first … Continue reading
AZ: Third party doctrine after Carpenter doesn’t require SW for IP addresses and subscriber info
The third party doctrine after Carpenter does not make IP addresses and subscriber information protected by the Fourth Amendment or the state constitution. State v. Mixon, 2021 Ariz. LEXIS 3 (Jan. 11, 2021):
Geofence warrants can be used to identify those who invaded the Capitol, not to mention Facebook warrants
The government’s prior use of geofence warrants were a prelude to this: With the invasion of the Capitol on Wednesday, the government now can attempt to locate all the cell phones inside the Capitol to identify those to potentially charge. … Continue reading
NBC News: Insecure wheels: Police turn to car data to destroy suspects’ alibis
NBC News: Insecure wheels: Police turn to car data to destroy suspects’ alibis by Olivia Solon (“Looser privacy standards for vehicle data are a treasure chest of data for law enforcement.”)
Vox: The real cost of smart speakers
Vox: The real cost of smart speakers by Sam Ellis (“But essentially, smart speakers are microphones that connect to the internet. And they come with a hidden cost: some of our privacy. After listening to our questions and demands, these … Continue reading
The Intercept: Powerful Mobile Phone Surveillance Tool Operates in Obscurity Across the Country
The Intercept: Powerful Mobile Phone Surveillance Tool Operates in Obscurity Across the Country by Sam Richards (“CellHawk helps law enforcement visualize large quantities of information collected by cellular towers and providers.”)
The Crime Report: Is Your Phone Safe? The Dangers of Police Access to Private Digital Data
The Crime Report: Is Your Phone Safe? The Dangers of Police Access to Private Digital Data by Christa Miller (“A recent report from the Washington, D.C. nonprofit Upturn highlights the privacy and civil rights concerns arising from the use of … Continue reading
techspot: Schools are using FBI hacking tools to access students’ phones
techspot: Schools are using FBI hacking tools to access students’ phones by Isaiah Mayersen (“A damning Gizmodo report has revealed that numerous school districts have purchased the digital tools the FBI use, and are leveling them against students. Even without … Continue reading
CA9: Husband hacking wife’s work emails for divorce advantage violated SCA
Husband’s interception of his wife’s work emails for advantage in their divorce case violated the Stored Communications Act as well as her right of privacy. The district court erred in granting him summary judgment. Clare v. Clare, 19-36039 (9th Cir. … Continue reading
VICE: The DEA Abruptly Cut-Off Its App Location Data Contract
VICE: The DEA Abruptly Cut-Off Its App Location Data Contract by Joseph Cox (“The DEA cancelled its contract with Venntel, which obtains granular location data from ordinary apps and sells access to law enforcement agencies.”)
NBC News: Police in Jackson, Mississippi, want access to live home security video, alarming privacy advocates
NBC News: Police in Jackson, Mississippi, want access to live home security video, alarming privacy advocates by Jon Schuppe & Bracey Harris (“Civil liberties advocates warn that a new surveillance tool will put people’s everyday household activities under potential scrutiny … Continue reading
Vice: Police Are Tapping Into Ring Cameras to Expand Surveillance Network In Mississippi
Vice: Police Are Tapping Into Ring Cameras to Expand Surveillance Network In Mississippi by Edward Ongweso Jr (“The police department in Jackson, Mississippi is partnering with two companies to stream surveillance footage from Ring cameras in a 45-day pilot program.”)
Jurist: Michigan voters approve warrant requirement for electronic data searches
Jurist: Michigan voters approve warrant requirement for electronic data searches by Daniel Klapper (“Michigan voters Tuesday approved an amendment to the state constitution that will require law enforcement to get a warrant for electronic data searches. The amendment prohibits searches … Continue reading
NYTimes: The Police Can Probably Break Into Your Phone
NYTimes: The Police Can Probably Break Into Your Phone (“At least 2,000 law enforcement agencies have tools to get into encrypted smartphones, according to new research, and they are using them far more than previously known.”)
The Intercept: Stop-and-frisk Never Really Ended. Now It’s Gone Digital.
The Intercept: Stop-and-frisk Never Really Ended. Now It’s Gone Digital. by Alice Speri (“A federal class-action lawsuit accuses New York police of unconstitutionally detaining people in order to run their IDs.”) If the stop has to be based on reasonable … Continue reading
