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- D.N.M.: DEA’s failure to make a detailed inventory in violation of policy doesn’t require exclusion of evidence
- WaPo: These cities bar facial recognition tech. Police still found ways to access it.
- C.D.Cal.: SW materials in case with weighty public interest ordered unsealed
- DC: Accepting a law license is consent to trust account subpoenas
- AR: RS def rented a hotel room was sufficient for search waiver; PC not required
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ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2017); ABA Journal Blawg 100 (2015-16) (discontinued 2018)
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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 -
© 2003-24,
online since Feb. 24, 2003 Approx. 425,000 visits (non-robot) since 2012 Approx. 45,000 posts since 2003 (26,730+ on WordPress as of 12/31/23) -
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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)
--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 -
"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!”
---Pepé Le Pew "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)
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Category Archives: Dog sniff
ID: Drug dog’s nose through a car window before alerting is a search and a Jones trespass
A drug dog’s nose through a car window before alerting is a search and a Jones trespass. De minimis, yet, but still a trespass. There was no probable cause for the automobile exception, and the state waived standing by not … Continue reading
OR: Dog sniff during traffic stop lacked any RS
“Here, officers deployed a drug-detection dog during a traffic stop for failing to signal continuously for at least 100 feet before turning-without articulating any independent constitutional justification. Moreover, the state has not identified any theory or pointed us to any … Continue reading
AR: Arrest outside officer’s jurisdiction not constitutionally unreasonable
The jurisdiction of an officer to make an arrest does not make an arrest outside of the officer’s jurisdiction unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment or the state constitution. Durden v. City of Van Buren, 2021 Ark. App. 357, 2021 Ark. … Continue reading
CT: State const. protects against dog sniffs outside motel room doors
There is a privacy interest against a drug dog being employed in a motel hallway looking for drugs in rooms under the Connecticut Constitution. The court had previously found one in apartment buildings. The citizenry wouldn’t accept free wheeling dog … Continue reading
N.D.Tex.: First dog alert was before the dog jumped in the window, so the original alert was independent of that
“Because a positive alert by a drug dog creates probable cause to search a vehicle—and this alert occurred before the dog’s nose entered Castaneda’s window—the Court finds that regardless of whether the dog’s breach of the window amounted to an … Continue reading
UT: Drug dog’s instinctive leap through a left open car window was reasonable
A drug dog’s instinctive leap through a left open car window was reasonable and didn’t violate the Fourth Amendment. State v. Ruiz, 2021 UT App 94 (Sept. 2, 2021):
CA4: Dog sniff before traffic ticket finished was reasonable
Dog sniff occurred here during the initial ordinary incidents of the traffic stop and writing a ticket so it didn’t extend the stop. United States v. Junkins, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 24174 (4th Cir. Aug. 13, 2021). Defendant’s vehicle was … Continue reading
CA8: Taking box off FedEx conveyor belt for dog sniff didn’t deprive FedEx of custody
Moving a suspicious looking box from the FedEx conveyor belt to a back room for a dog sniff did not require reasonable suspicion nor did it deprive FedEx of custody of the box. The dog alert provided justification for a … Continue reading
OH1: Years old info of drug dealing coupled with current trash pull showing drug use was clearly stale; no GFE
Years old information of drug dealing in another county coupled with a trash pull of recent drug use (not trafficking) was stale, and the search warrant was clearly lacking probable cause. Therefore, the good faith exception does not apply. State … Continue reading
IA: Def’s registration papers weren’t in order; while waiting on a response from dispatch, criminal history led to calling drug dog. This didn’t extend the stop
The officer intended only to give a warning, but it took a while for defendant’s registration to clear a computer check. While waiting, the officer checked defendant’s criminal history finding a significant meth history and then called for a drug … Continue reading
CA7: Other officers bringing drug dog didn’t extend the stop
“The district court here found that Cowick detained Gholston only long enough to complete these same procedures, and that the dog alerted before Cowick had finished printing the second ticket. This is not a case in which an officer completes … Continue reading
NBC (KARK): Madison County K-9 collapses during drug search; 3 arrested
NBC (KARK): Madison County K-9 collapses during drug search; 3 arrested by Heath Higgs (“Three people were arrested on multiple charges in Madison County on Sunday after a traffic stop that resulted in the apparent drug overdose of a police … Continue reading
NY3: Dog sniff of person requires RS
On a matter of first impression, NY’s Third Department concludes that reasonable suspicion is required for a dog sniff of the person, and here there was reasonable suspicion. People v. Butler, 2021 NY Slip Op 03222, 2021 N.Y. App. Div. … Continue reading
D.Colo.: Federal law criminalizing marijuana makes dog sniff in recreational use state reasonable
Even though Colorado has decriminalized personal use of marijuana, a dog sniff is still reasonable under federal law because possession of marijuana is still a violation of federal law because it’s unlawful for “any purpose.” United States v. Spikes, 2021 … Continue reading
KS: 24 minute wait for drug dog with RS wasn’t unreasonable
A wait of 24 minutes for the drug dog to arrive after reasonable suspicion developed was reasonable and not excessive. State v. Arrizabalaga, 2021 Kan. LEXIS 50 (Apr. 30, 2021). The Border Patrol request to local police to stop defendant … Continue reading
OH5: Dog was called two minutes into stop of RV and it didn’t prolong the stop
Defendant’s RV was stopped for crossing the center line, and a drug dog was called within two minutes, arriving shortly thereafter. Waiting for and using the dog did not delay the stop, and the Fourth Amendment was not violated. State … Continue reading
OH10: Citizen informant’s complaint of def flashing gun from car justifies frisk of person and car
A citizen informant’s complaint defendant flashed a gun was justification for both a patdown and a protective weapons search of his car. State v. Shalash, 2021-Ohio-1034, 2021 Ohio App. LEXIS 1043 (10th Dist. Mar. 30, 2021). Calling for a drug … Continue reading
KY: State failed to call witnesses to show RS for extending stop for drug dog
The state failed to prove its reasonable suspicion for extending the stop. The officer alone detaining at the scene for the drug dog didn’t have the evidence. Giles v. Commonwealth, 2021 Ky. App. LEXIS 45 (Mar. 26, 2021):
W.D.La.: Motion to suppress SW has to plead and proffer that GFE doesn’t apply
Defendant had a duty to address the good faith exception in his motion and amended motion to suppress a search under a warrant, but he did not. United States v. Lyons, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48780 (W.D. La. Feb. 17, … Continue reading