May 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
- CA4: Dist.Ct. erred in applying search incident to arrest to suppress bag when inventory was inevitable
- OR: Even if original served warrant wasn’t the one returned, it doesn’t warrant suppression
- Two on suicide calls as exigency
- W.D.N.Y.: Civil discovery dispute denies access to other employees’ cell phones as 4A issue
- Reason: All New Cars Could Have Mandatory Surveillance Tech Unless Congress Stops This Mandate
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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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"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: Emergency / exigency
D.D.C.: Even if electronic search protocol is a const’l requirement, GFE applies
The lack of an electronics search protocol in the warrant, even if it was constitutionally required, doesn’t even have to be decided because of the good faith exception. “Okafor suggests that the Constitution might nonetheless demand that a warrant specify … Continue reading
CT: Exigency shown for animal control entry
“Our scrupulous examination of the entire record supports the court’s conclusion that the officers had reasonable cause to believe that the dogs contained within the barn were in imminent harm and neglected, or cruelly treated.” City of Middletown v. Wagner, … Continue reading
CA11: Being on a no-fly list wasn’t RS on highway
Plaintiff’s being on a no-fly list wasn’t reasonable suspicion to detain him on the highway. Meshal v. Commissioner, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 23486 (11th Cir. Sep. 16, 2024). “[T]he officer did not violate the Fourth Amendment because his warrantless entry … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: Exigency shown for warrantless entry to prevent destruction of drugs
The government showed exigency for what they feared was imminent destruction of drugs for a warrantless entry and protective sweep. Then a warrant was obtained with probable cause. United States v. Banks, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 163658 (N.D. Ga. Aug. … Continue reading
CO: Second entry after seeing a dead dog in def’s yard was without exigency and suppressed
The officer’s first approach to defendant’s door was a knock-and-talk, and he could see a dead dog which he checked on and confirmed. The trip to the front door was not to gather information en route. The warrantless entry coming … Continue reading
MA: There was exigency and more for a welfare check entry under Caniglia
A welfare check at defendant’s father’s house led to police entering without a warrant. “[O]fficers had an objectively reasonable basis to believe that the victim was in his house and in need of emergency assistance. Although the police may no … Continue reading
OH8: Citizen informant’s 911 call was RS under Navarette
The citizen informant’s 911 call that defendant was drunk, belligerent, and driving gave reasonable suspicion to stop defendant under Naverette. City of Parma v. Coyne, 2024-Ohio-3192, 2024 Ohio App. LEXIS 3019 (8th Dist. Aug. 22, 2024). “And here, even expunging … Continue reading
CA5: Sounds of a fight inside at a domestic call justified this warrantless entry
Officers responded to a domestic disturbance call and heard shouting inside that made them believe there was a fight inside. Summary judgment for the officers in a warrantless entry case was properly granted. Ramirez v. Killian, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS … Continue reading
CA7: Franks does not apply to emergency cell phone pings
During the George Floyd murder unrest, defendant told an acquaintance he was traveling to Wisconsin with a machine gun to kill and loot. The acquaintance told law enforcement. They obtained ping information based on exigency, which was valid. Also, Franks … Continue reading
CA6: Knowing of a search starts the SoL from any claim on it
Knowing of a search starts the statute of limitations for any claim on it. Reguli v. Russ, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 19008 (6th Cir. July 31, 2024). Defendant waived his motion to suppress by not adequately supporting it with factual … Continue reading
D.Del.: Officer could open car door for officer safety to insure there was no one else inside
New arguments raised at the suppression hearing are considered waived. Even if it was considered, it lacks merit: The officer could open the car for a check for other passengers for officer safety. United States v. Hargraves, 2024 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
NJ: Entry into garage to make a DUI arrest violated 4A and state const.
Defendant was convicted of DUI. Acting on a tip of erratic driving by a particular LPN, the officer went into her garage and entered it to investigate and then make the arrest. There were no exigent circumstances like a medical … Continue reading
CA7: Drug dog’s 59% success rate still PC
The fact the drug dog here had only a 59% (or 80%) success rate is still probable cause. The fact a dog can’t tell the difference between legal and illegal cannabis is of no moment. It’s still probable cause. United … Continue reading
CA3: Getting ptf’s personal information from third parties after he was seen open carrying was not 2A or 4A violation
Plaintiff was seen open carrying on a bicycle, and the officer attempted to stop him. The officer later got information on plaintiff from a store he’d been in. None of that violated the Second or Fourth Amendment. Glover v. Fidaannd, … Continue reading
CA5: Exigency is measured objectively, not subjectively
“Borden argues the officers’ actions indicate they did not actually think a medical emergency existed, but their subjective beliefs are irrelevant. See Toussaint, 838 F.3d at 509. Given the totality of the circumstances, a reasonable view of the evidence supports … Continue reading
CA7: Manual border search of cell phone revealing CP was reasonable
Manual border search of defendant’s cell phone was reasonable and revealed child pornography, and that justification for a more intensive search. United States v. Mendez, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 14058 (7th Cir. June 10, 2024). Defendant rented his hotel room, … Continue reading
Three on exigency
The emergency aid exception permitted entry into victim’s home. She hadn’t been seen all day and her child was unaccounted for. This entry was objectively reasonable, and the police were not required to use alternate means to seek to find … Continue reading
D.Alaska: Protective sweep after def’s arrest not justified, but there was exigency otherwise
The entry into the house was reasonable because of exigent circumstances because of ongoing drug operations there. Protective sweep is rejected because the defendant had already been arrested by the time the sweep occurred. United States v. Avitia-Enriquez, 2024 U.S. … Continue reading
ND: Warrantless entry into garage to investigate driving on a suspended license unreasonable
Officers had probable cause to believe defendant was driving on a suspended DL, and they were parked outside his house and watched him drive into his garage. There was no exigency for the police entry into his garage to arrest … Continue reading
OH1: A malnourished child isn’t exigency for an infant
“The facts of this case are more akin to the situation in Fisher. While a report of a malnourished infant is certainly cause for concern, no one testified that that the infant would not survive without immediate medical intervention. Rather, … Continue reading