July 2026 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Archives
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Recent Posts
- CA11: Yahoo not a govt actor in scanning emails for CSAM
- Treatise 25% off through 7/8
- SCOTUS: Geofence warrants governed by Carpenter and are a search; remanded for resolution of issues (interesting take on third party doctrine, too)
- The Guardian: ‘It’s dangerous and it’s going to erode trust’: redesign of US government websites stokes surveillance fears
- W.D.N.Y.: Possibility of co-conspirators in mass murder justified emergency disclosure request to Apple, Verizon, and Facebook
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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 -
Latest Slip Opinions:
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Federal Circuit
Foreign Intell.Surv.Ct.
FDsys, many district courts, other federal courts
Military Courts: C.A.A.F., Army, AF, N-M, CG, SF
State courts (and some USDC opinions)
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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
Research Links:
Supreme Court:
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Solicitor General's site
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Briefs online (but no amicus briefs)
Oyez Project (NWU)
"On the Docket"–Medill
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S.Ct. Com't'ry: Law.com
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General (many free):
LexisWeb
Google Scholar | Google
LexisOne Legal Website Directory
Crimelynx
Lexis.com $
Lexis.com (criminal law/ 4th Amd) $
Findlaw.com
Findlaw.com (4th Amd)
Westlaw.com $
F.R.Crim.P. 41
www.fd.org
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)
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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
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 -
"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: Consent
ND: BAC consent not coerced just because a penalty extends to refusal
“[¶24] As discussed, an individual’s consent is not coerced simply because an administrative penalty has been attached to refusing the test or that law enforcement recites that law to the driver. Here, examining the totality of the circumstances at the … Continue reading →
W.D.N.C.: Gov’t civil case for police targeting Hispanic motorists proceeds on 14th Amd. claim
“The United States of America (the ‘Government’) allege that Defendant Terry S. Johnson, in his official capacity as Sheriff of Alamance County, North Carolina, engaged in a pattern or practice of discriminatory law enforcement activities directed against Latinos, in violation … Continue reading →
IN: After express consent, leading officers through the house was implied consent
Defendant first gave express consent and then led them through the house. Defendant’s mother’s consent was also voluntary and she was warned by the consent form that she could refuse the search. Once officers were inside, defendant’s making a “bee … Continue reading →
MI: Where lack of consent not in motion to suppress or tried below, it couldn’t be raised on appeal
The motion to suppress was based on a lack of probable cause, but the trial court found consent. On appeal, the lack of consent is challenged, but it wasn’t challenged in the trial court, so it can’t be raised on … Continue reading →
NY3: Defendant’s denial he was driving vehicle denied him standing
Defendant’s denial he was driving the vehicle the gun was found in had no standing. People v. Anderson, 2014 NY Slip Op 04269, 2014 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 4184 (3d Dept. June 12, 2014). Defendant was on parole, and his … Continue reading →
IN: Suspicionless probation search invalid
Defendant was the roommate of a probationer, and their place was subjected to suspicionless probation search. Indiana, however, is a reasonable suspicion state, so the search was invalid. The search of defendant roommate’s space was unreasonable. State v. Vanderkolk, 2014 … Continue reading →
CA4: False statement of authority to search defendant’s car tainted the alleged consent and defendant’s admissions
Officer’s false statement of authority to search defendant’s car tainted the alleged consent and defendant’s admissions in response. United States v. Saafir, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 10847 (4th Cir. June 11, 2014). Nexus was shown to seize a murder and … Continue reading →
S.D.N.Y.: Def had a REP in his university owned computer, but they could consent to search
Defendant was employed by NYU, and he obtained a computer under a grant and encrypted the hard drive with multiple layers of protection. He took that computer home every night. NYU became suspicious of his handling of the grant and … Continue reading →
N.D.Ga.: Civil protective order in another case not ground to suppress
Evidence uncovered in a civil case involving the defendant here, plaintiff in that case, was turned over by the defense to the government. Defendant can’t suppress that evidence, even if it was illegally obtained or given in violation of a … Continue reading →
E.D.Tex.: Right address but wrong city in urban area was not constitutional defect since right house was searched
The address was given as Bridge City not Orange, Texas, but the officers misapprehended that the city limits was another block over. There was no chance here that the wrong house was searched, so this is not a constitutional error. … Continue reading →
PA: The contents of a prescription pill bottle are not in plain view
During defendant’s traffic stop, the officer saw a pill bottle. The contents are not in plain view or searchable under the automobile exception. It turned out it was defendant’s prescription medication. The state’s nolle pros motion filed after a notice … Continue reading →
CO finds McNeely violation in blood draw from unconscious defendant; Roberts’s proposal rejected
Defendant was unconscious in a hospital after a car wreck that injured others. An officer at the hospital directed a nurse to draw blood for criminal purposes, but didn’t even think about getting a warrant. The blood draw violated the … Continue reading →
MI: Appointment of a post-judgment collection receiver was not a Fourth Amendment issue
Appointment of a post-judgment collection receiver was not an unreasonable search and seizure or a Fourth Amendment issue. Besides, there was no sign anywhere that there would be a turning over of records to law enforcement. Arbor Farms v. Geostar … Continue reading →
IL: Def’s locking self in bathroom overcame husband’s consent to enter under Randolph
Two police officers came to defendant’s home to arrest her for DUI, and her husband arguably consented to an entry to arrest her. Her locking herself in the bathroom, however, was a rejection of consent and binding. The officer’s threatening … Continue reading →
CA11: PC of identity theft in def’s car was sufficient for automobile exception
Postal inspectors had probable cause to believe that there was evidence in defendant’s car, a postal worker suspected of identity theft from people on her route. Alternatively, the search incident doctrine supported the search. United States v. Adigun, 2014 U.S. … Continue reading →
NJ: Defendant’s stepfather’s refusal to consent didn’t bar his mother’s consent under Randolph and Fernandez
Defendant’s stepfather’s refusal to consent didn’t bar his mother’s consent under Randolph and Fernandez. State v. Lamb, 218 N.J. 300, 95 A.3d 123 (2014): The focus of this appeal is whether the strenuously expressed statements by defendant’s stepfather that the … Continue reading →
New Law Review Article: Consent Searches of Minors
Consent Searches of Minors, Megan Annitto, 38 N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 1 (2014). Abstract: Despite the imbalance of power between police officers and citizens, courts rarely find that a search by a police officer based upon consent was … Continue reading →
NJ: Once RS is satisfied, stop must end; third party consent invalid
Defendant’s initial stop for being involved in a robbery was valid, but it became unreasonable once the victim said he wasn’t the guy. At that point, the detention should have ended. Instead, the police repeatedly asked for and finally got … Continue reading →
NYT: P2P searches and “71 Are Accused in a Child Pornography Case, Officials Say”
NYT: 71 Are Accused in a Child Pornography Case, Officials Say by Joseph Berger
N.D.W.Va.: Law of the case doctrine applies to motion to suppress denied as to codefendant
When a motion to suppress is denied as to one defendant, the law of the case doctrine applies and requires it be denied as to others [except possibly where it was on standing or something like that]. United States v. … Continue reading →