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- S.D.Fla.: Inventory that omitted “miscellaneous personal items” was not unreasonable
- CA4: The fact that ptf charged with witness intimidation didn’t do it again wasn’t material for Franks
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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)
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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. 
Category Archives: Warrant execution
D.Md.: Blanket suppression reserved for flagrant cases; this isn’t
The search warrant didn’t specify that cash was subject to seizure, but it reasonably falls within evidence of the subject matter of the search warrant. To exclude the cash would be a “hypertechnical” suppression argument. Moreover, blanket suppression is reserved … Continue reading
CA4: Seizure of things not specified in the SW is not necessarily a constitutional violation; depends on wording of SW
The fact some things were seized beyond the face of the warrant does not state a § 1983 claim. “Although some of the personal property seized was not listed in the search warrants, we find no error in the district … Continue reading
W.D.Va.: Def consented but withdrew it; search unreasonable
Despite defendant’s claim that he didn’t speak much English at all, being Russian speaking Ukranian, the court finds consent valid based on gestures on the video where his voice was largely inaudible. However, he clearly withdrew consent and told the … Continue reading
CA2: Warrant said Apt. 2, but officers determined Apt. 1 was correct; search of Apt. 1 was thus warrantless and not in good faith
The search warrant said Apartment 2. The officers searched Apartment 1 because that turned out to be the target apartment. That was a warrantless search. The warrant did not say “Bershchansky’s apartment” or the “one on the right.” The good … Continue reading
CA9: CP search warrant authorized second and third searches five years after the first search because gov’t still had computer
A second and third search of defendant’s computer for child pornography five years after the first one when defendant didn’t take a plea offer. That search was within the scope of the original warrant because the government still had the … Continue reading
CA9: No special protocol required for computer SW, but courts must be vigilant on review
No special protocol required for a computer search warrant, but vigilance of the court is expected in review to protect against overreaching. Also, the least intrusive measures are required. United States v. Nessland, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 7360 (9th cir. … Continue reading
ND: Visitor’s purse could be searched on execution of SW for house for drugs
The affidavit for search warrant named defendant’s house but not his name. The probable cause was for drugs. Once inside, there was a woman visiting. Officers could search her purse as a part of the warrant. [The specification of name … Continue reading
D.Ariz.: When a SW expires before execution, a new affidavit is not required if timeliness can still be met
The first search warrant in defendant’s child pornography case expired when it wasn’t timely served, so another was sought on the same affidavit. While staleness is always a potential issue, there is no mandatory requirement that a new affidavit be … Continue reading
TN: An RV parked off the property but connected by an electrical cord to the house was subject to search under a warrant for the house
To search vehicles under a search warrant for real property, the vehicles must belong to a person named in the warrant to identify the place or things to be searched. Vehicles belonging to visitors are not subject to search under … Continue reading
MA: Where an anticipatory warrant goes awry because the condition precedent fails, it can still be executed with “equivalent compliance”
Where an anticipatory warrant goes awry because the condition precedent fails, it can still be executed with “equivalent compliance”: “The Commonwealth bears the burden of proving that the conditions that actually gave rise to the search were as or more … Continue reading
S.D.Ohio: Alleged overseizure was not shown to be unreasonable here
“Sember has been indicted for stealing certain United States Air Force sensitive and proprietary technical, engineering and computer data and codes having a value in excess of $1,000 in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641.” The seizure of some matter … Continue reading
WaPo: The proper way to make mistakes in drug policing
WaPo: The proper way to make mistakes in drug policing by Radley Balko:
CT: Refusal to cooperate with SW for DNA swab admissible to show consciousness of guilt
While one can refuse a consent search, refusal to cooperate with a search warrant can be used as evidence of guilt; here an attempt to take DNA by search warrant, all captured on video. It was relevant as showing defendant’s … Continue reading
S.D.Ala.: Failure to include the incorporated affidavit in the SW as executed was fatal to this search
The motion to reconsider is denied. The search warrant was lacking the incorporated affidavit when it was executed, and that defined the place to be searched. The government cites no supporting case law that having the affidavit in hand, at … Continue reading
GA: Generalized, boilerplate statements about drug dealers for a no-knock SW don’t satisfy the Fourth Amendment
Generalized, boilerplate statements about drug dealers for a no-knock search warrant don’t satisfy the Fourth Amendment, and the trial court did not err in suppressing the search for lack of announcement. In addition, the product of a search doesn’t justify … Continue reading
S.D.Ill.: 9 day delay in getting SW for phone seized on exigent circumstances not unreasonable
A nine day wait to get a search warrant for a cell phone admittedly seized on exigent circumstances was not unreasonable, particularly where the defendant didn’t ask for it back. United States v. Winn, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15240 (S.D. … Continue reading
S.D.W.Va.: There was reasonable suspicion for a slight delay of an Express Mail package
“In what has become a large line of cases, a number of federal circuits have found that a combination of similar factors created reasonable suspicion to seize a package. The Court has no problem finding reasonable suspicion based solely on … Continue reading
Watchdog.org: ‘Sneak and peek’ bill rolls quietly through [Virginia] General Assembly
Watchdog.org: ‘Sneak and peek’ bill rolls quietly through [Virginia] General Assembly by Kenric Ward: State Sen. Jennifer Wexton wants to endow Virginia law-enforcement agencies with Patriot Act powers RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia lawmakers want to give local and state authorities … Continue reading
WaPo: The Watch: Fairfax police stage a SWAT raid on poker players
WaPo: The Watch: Fairfax police stage a SWAT raid on poker players by Radley Balko: Playing cards could be dangerous. Better just stick to the lottery.