Archives
-
Recent Posts
- USA Today: Cell phone SW for cause of crash
- Treatise on sale to 11/1
- MD: While protective sweep information made it into SW affidavit, there was PC without it
- N.D.Ga.: A Customs forensic search of a cell phone away from the border was still a border search
- CA6: State officer’s arrest for violation of federal MJ law likely wouldn’t violate 4A
-
Feedspot’s Best Legal Blogs and Websites 2023-2026,
also, firm website Top 90 Criminal Law Blogs 2026 -
-
ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2015-17) (then discontinued)
-
-
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) -
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fourth Amendment cases, citations, and links -
Latest Slip Opinions:
U.S. Supreme Court (Home)
S.Ct. Shadow Docket Database
Federal Appellate Courts Opinions
First Circuit
Second Circuit
Third Circuit
Fourth Circuit
Fifth Circuit
Sixth Circuit
Seventh Circuit
Eighth Circuit
Ninth Circuit
Tenth Circuit
Eleventh Circuit
D.C. Circuit
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)
Google Scholar
Advanced Google Scholar
Google search tips
LexisWeb
LII State Appellate Courts
LexisONE free caselaw
Findlaw Free Opinions
To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
Research Links:
Supreme Court:
SCOTUSBlog
S. Ct. Docket
Solicitor General's site
SCOTUSreport
Briefs online (but no amicus briefs)
Oyez Project (NWU)
"On the Docket"–Medill
S.Ct. Monitor: Law.com
S.Ct. Com't'ry: Law.com
-
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)
-
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)
-
“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: Standing
W.D.Ky.: Cell phone pings before controlled buys provided nexus to search house
Defendant’s going directly home after several controlled buys as shown by cell phone pings was sufficient to show nexus to his home for a search warrant for drugs. “Probable cause exists in this case because of the continual and ongoing … Continue reading
E.D.Mo.: Def has no standing to challenge SW for another person’s Facebook account
Defendant was charged with drug dealing and the overdose death of A.C. He has no standing to challenge the search warrant for A.C.’s Facebook account. United States v. Brewer, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 220055 (E.D. Mo. Dec. 18, 2018). Despite … Continue reading
S.D.N.Y.: An order of protection keeping one from his own house denies him standing in the house
Defendant was under an order of protection keeping him from his own house, and that denied him standing. Hiding in the closet when police arrived pretty much proves it. United States v. Murray, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9820 (S.D. N.Y. … Continue reading
W.D.Pa.: SW affidavit showed def as a guest of the place searched; the govt essentially conceded his standing there
During a protective sweep of the premises, the officers’ observation of a dinner plate covered with heroin could be included in the affidavit for search warrant. The affidavit for the search warrant mentioned a cell phone linked to defendant, and … Continue reading
FL5: Record doesn’t show no standing in CSLI; remanded
The record does not conclusively show that defendant was without standing to challenge the CSLI from the cell phone at issue. Remanded. Litz v. State, 2019 Fla. App. LEXIS 649 (Fla. 5th DCA Jan. 18, 2019).* A store loss prevention … Continue reading
S.D.Ga.: Def was a day visitor, and it was tenuous at best he had standing; once he left, he sure didn’t
“As an initial matter, it is not clear that Lang even has standing to challenge the warrant. Lang testified (against the advice of counsel) that he was merely a temporary guest in his girlfriend’s mother’s residence, there to help ‘clean … Continue reading
W.D.Ky.: No showing of ownership for standing; wiretap talking about being able to give clear title wasn’t sufficient
Defendant has no standing in another person’s vehicle. He provided no affidavit of ownership, and he relies solely on a wiretap where he talked about it being his and he would provide clear title to it. “Standing is based on … Continue reading
W.D.N.C.: Motion to suppress that denied all connection to car was denied for lack of standing
Defendant’s motion to suppress goes to the extreme of denying any connection to the vehicle searched in an apparent effort to not be linked at trial, and that means no standing. United States v. Littlejohn, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 214718 … Continue reading
D.Utah: Def lacked standing in an apt rented for him he knew was by identity theft
Defendant lacked standing to contest a search of the apartment he knew was rented by another for him via identity theft. United States v. Kafuku, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 207331 (D. Utah Dec. 8, 2018):
S.D.N.Y.: No standing in an email account def didn’t open and disavows
Defendant has no standing in an email account that was opened by somebody else that he disavows is even connected to him. United States v. Lewis, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 202501 (S.D. N.Y. Nov. 29, 2018). Reconsideration of prior denial … Continue reading
D.Mont.: Probation search of place probationer was merely visiting unreasonable
A person on supervised release was subject to a search condition of his residence. That did not include places he was visiting. Search of his backpack suppressed; a search warrant was required to even enter the premises of a third … Continue reading
D.V.I.: Package shipped from SC to VI did not cross “border”
Defendant mailing packages from South Carolina to the Virgin Islands under an alias has standing because the government alleges the alias on the package is defendant. The sealed packages have Fourth Amendment protection and a reasonable expectation of privacy. The … Continue reading
M.D.Fla.: Def was given guest standing to challenge a knock-and-talk that both sides agree was unreasonable
The knock-and-talk turned into a full scale raid, and the parties agree it was unreasonable. The R&R is rejected that defendant didn’t have standing. “The Court finds that defendant has standing to challenge the police conduct in and near the … Continue reading
D.N.M.: Failure to mention the CI’s criminal history is less important when the affidavit shows extensive corroboration
Failure to mention the CI’s criminal history is less important when the affidavit shows extensive corroboration. The Franks challenge fails. United States v. Martinez, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 192181 (D. N.M. Nov. 9, 2018). Defendant had standing to challenge the … Continue reading
S.D.Ohio: Warrant was still particular because attachments were present at time of search
The search warrants here were particular because the affidavits and attachments were incorporated by reference and present at the time of the search. The temporal limitations on the warrant were not vague and stale. It was limited in scope otherwise. … Continue reading
D.Haw.: “Intended recipient” of a parcel whose name isn’t on it has no standing.
As an “intended recipient” of a parcel, defendant has no standing. His name isn’t on the package as sender or recipient. United States v. Williams, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177669 (D. Haw. Oct. 16, 2018). Officers could reasonably believe that … Continue reading
D.Kan.: Driver had no standing in car search even though owner was with him in car
A mere possessor/driver of a car has no standing in it, even allegedly with permission of the owner who was sitting in the car with him [and this certainly seems completely contrary to Bryd]. United States v. Gonzalez-Molina, 2018 U.S. … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: Court assumes exclusionary rule applies to 404(b) evidence and finds 2003 search valid for trial in 2018; frisk of fannypack valid
Defendant moved to suppress 404(b) evidence of a 2003 stop and search that the government will offer into evidence in his current indictment involving allegations from 2014 going to trial shortly. The stop was on video, and the officer’s testimony … Continue reading
E.D.Tenn.: No standing in a shipped package found in another’s car where def’s name not on box as sender or recipient
Defendant had no standing to challenge the search of a previously shipped package located in another person’s vehicle that had his name nowhere on it as recipient or sender. Also, the search of the package was valid by consent and … Continue reading