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also, firm website Top 90 Criminal Law Blogs 2026 -
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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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Stringrays (ACLU No. Cal.) (pdf)
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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. 
Category Archives: Franks doctrine
D.Mass.: Def’s quibbling in a Franks challenge is insufficient: “I’m just a ‘drug dealer’ not a ‘drug trafficker.’”
Defendant is quibbling rather than making a bona fide Franks argument that he was arraigned 11 times not 10 on other drug cases and that he was a “drug trafficker” when he insists he is just a “drug dealer.” One … Continue reading
CA8: Def failed to show omission of CI’s background would have vitiated PC
“Claybron argues that the omission of the confidential informant’s background information weighed so heavily on her credibility that, had it been considered, the warrant would not have issued. ‘We review the trial court’s findings of fact for clear error and … Continue reading
RI: Cell phone SW aff omission of reference to 300 other text messages to and from others wasn’t material for Franks
Omission of the fact that there were 300 text messages from the affidavit for search warrant between defendant’s text to victim and acquiring the phone was not material for probable cause purposes. Omission of references to others wasn’t material: “Although … Continue reading
W.D.Ky.: Lack of detail in a report on a knock-and-talk didn’t amount to a material omission for Franks purposes
A Franks challenge requires affidavits or other sworn testimony as an offer of proof. Franks, 438 U.S. at 171. Defendant doesn’t provide any. On the merits of the search and seizure claim, it started with a knock-and-talk, and they are … Continue reading
CA11: Franks challenge fails; officer’s frank admission of mistake [apparently] helped show mere negligence in including it
The mistake in the affidavit was just negligent and it didn’t undermine the probable cause at all. Besides that, there was an independent source for all the information in the warrant that was probable cause. United States v. Reddick, 2017 … Continue reading
GA: Def not compelled to perform breath tests, so no self-incrimination issue
Defendant was not compelled to perform breath tests, so the Fifth Amendment’s self-incrimination clause did not apply. State v. Council, 2017 Ga. App. LEXIS 531 (Oct. 30, 2017).* In a Franks challenge, “The Court is tasked with reassessing the probable … Continue reading
CA2: Correcting the alleged false statements in affidavit still leaves PC so officials have QI
Deleting the allegedly false information from the affidavit for search warrant leaving it as a “corrected” affidavit under Franks, there still was a fair probability for probable cause. That there might be other explanations doesn’t undermine probable cause. Therefore, defendants … Continue reading
D.Nev.: Court gave a Franks hearing, but def didn’t make offer of proof to get one and failed on proof
Defendant got a suppression hearing to put on proof of a Franks violation, and he fails to show with any proof that the statements were reckless or material. Perhaps the court should have never ordered a hearing for a lack … Continue reading
CA6: Alleged defect in state arrest warrant was irrelevant under the 4A where there was PC
Defendant’s arrest under a purportedly defective Georgia arrest warrant was irrelevant under the Fourth Amendment because there was plenty of probable cause for it. Specifically, defendant contended that the officers needed an incident report or something that showed probable cause … Continue reading
D.Kan.: Def’s pulling arms from sweatshirt sleeves was RS for frisk since hands weren’t visible
The officer had reasonable suspicion for a frisk of defendant with a 4:30 am stop and having to turn his back on defendant to investigate what was going on. Importantly, defendant kept pulling his arms out of his sleeves of … Continue reading
CA3: Def lacked standing to challenge search of co-def cell phone
Defendant lacked standing to challenge the search of a cell phone taken off a co-defendant that didn’t belong him. Besides, the search of that cell phone was valid. United States v. Brewer, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 18003 (3d Cir. Sept. … Continue reading
D.Minn.: Omission of CI’s criminal history didn’t mislead magistrate or wasn’t material to PC finding
Failing to include the CI’s criminal history didn’t mislead the magistrate issuing the warrant, and there was probable cause in any event, even without including it. Moreover, the issuing magistrate would have to fairly conclude the CI had criminal involvement. … Continue reading
CA5: Ptf in a 4A § 1983 case has to plead violation of a “clearly established right” to get over QI in complaint
Although an arrestee adequately alleged that members of a parish council and sheriff’s office maliciously conspired to prosecute him under an unconstitutional statute in retaliation for online comments about council members, his right was not clearly established because there was … Continue reading
CA9: In a civil Franks claim, withheld SW affidavit tolls limitations until discovery
Plaintiff claimed judicial deception in obtaining search warrants for his home and computers over the death of his wife. When the state had the warrant affidavits sealed, the two year statute of limitations on his claim of judicial deception did … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: A Franks challenge has to be more than just an argument over interpretation of meaning of facts
When the Franks challenge is more of a different interpretation of facts, it doesn’t suffice. “And, frankly, Defendant is just arguing that a different interpretation should be placed on his conduct than Agent Cunningham’s interpretation – or most likely the … Continue reading
CA9: § 1983 Franks violation: Ignoring alleged false statements still leaves PC
A search warrant was issued for alleged violations of the building code. Ignoring any alleged false statements that led to issuance of the search warrant, there still was probable cause. Gunnels v. Kenny, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 13204 (6th Cir. … Continue reading
OR: Emergency aid exception applies to animals in distress
The emergency aid exception applies to animals in distress. Here it was cattle. State v. Hershey, 286 Ore. App. 824, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 907 (July 19, 2017). There was plenty of probable cause, but defendant’s Franks argument that the … Continue reading
D.Md.: 2255 Franks IAC claim fails for not showing what the false statements were and how PC was undermined
Defendant’s 2255 Franks IAC claim fails for not showing what the false statements were and how probable cause was undermined. United States v. Johnson, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112806 (D. Md. July 20, 2017). Defendant’s moving his hands around in … Continue reading
WI: Tax assessor’s effort to see interior of home for assessment implicates the 4A
The tax assessor’s demand to see the interior of plaintiffs’ house is a search governed by the Fourth Amendment. Because it is the home, it is not “minimal,” and there is no administrative search exception that permits it. The city … Continue reading
FL: Appellate counsel can’t be ineffective for failing to argue a defaulted 4A claim
Appellate counsel can’t be ineffective for not arguing a Fourth Amendment claim not presented to the trial court. Peterson v. State, 2017 Fla. LEXIS 1455 (July 6, 2017). Defendant didn’t have standing to challenge the search of the car he … Continue reading