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
- NY Columbia Co.: Alleged excessive nervousness when multiple police cars arrive at a traffic stop doesn’t add to RS
- CA4: Backpack dumped in flight in grandmother’s yard was abandoned
- GA: Virtually all-inclusive list of items to be seized wasn’t overbroad
- 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
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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)
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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: Nexus
S.D.Ind.: The sole fact of being a drug trafficker doesn’t provide nexus to house; something has to be shown, and it wasn’t and GFE doesn’t apply
Being a drug trafficker is not enough to search defendant’s home. The government had to show nexus, and it never did anywhere in the affidavit for search warrant. The affidavit for the search warrant was, in fact, so lacking in … Continue reading
N.D.Ohio: Affidavit for SW didn’t support def’s claim of standing
Defendant relied on the affidavit for search warrant as showing his standing, but it didn’t resolve the question, so he fails in his burden of proof and lacks standing. The government showed nexus in the 61 page affidavit for residences … Continue reading
CA6: Nexus to cell phones shown through investigation plus def was using his when arrested
Nexus was shown to defendant’s cell phone because the affidavit in support of the search warrant for the phone showed that the gang had used cell phones to communicate and defendant was using his phone when arrested and he’d already … Continue reading
CA10: “affidavit established a minimally sufficient nexus between the criminal activity and the place to be searched.”
“Deputy Tucker’s affidavit established a minimally sufficient nexus between the criminal activity and the place to be searched.” Therefore, the affidavit shows probable cause. “The warrant was not based on an affidavit that ‘merely states suspicions, beliefs, or conclusions.’ Roach, … Continue reading
NY3: Building didn’t appear to be two units; SW for def’s dwelling, he answered door, and then they saw
The search warrant’s describing the dwelling as a single family dwelling when it was really two and defendant lived on the second floor didn’t make it overbroad. It did not appear to be a multi-unit dwelling and defendant answered the … Continue reading
GA: Nexus shown where def left house and drove directly to controlled buy
Deleting the detective’s false statement from the affidavit that he had seen a black male with short dreadlocks in an SUV, the affidavit nonetheless provided probable cause to issue the warrant based on a controlled buy from defendant. The remainder … Continue reading
S.D.W.Va.: SW for apartment five days after car was found nearby with PC inside it wasn’t stale
Defendant stopped at a DUI checkpoint, officers could see marijuana through the window, and then defendant fled the checkpoint. Officers gave chase. They found the car at an apartment complex, seemingly abandoned, parked with the door open and engine running. … Continue reading
E.D.Pa.: Govt adequately showed nexus that drugs were in def’s house
The government adequately showed nexus to search defendant’s house because it showed probable cause to believe he was an active drug dealer that likely was keeping his stash at home. United States v. Rosario, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23164 (E.D. … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: There was nexus for SW to def’s address from present and observed activities there
“In light of the above, there is a sufficient nexus between defendant and the Bunert address such that it was more likely than not that evidence of drug activity would be at the residence. Defendant was seen at Bunert both … Continue reading
GA: Affidavit as a whole made nexus with clear inference sought after evidence would be found
The affidavit for the search warrant as a whole made a clear inference that the evidence sought would be in the defendant’s house. The rule adopted by the court of appeals is too broad, but the decision is still affirmed. … Continue reading
D.Mass: Seeking CP from work computer created reasonable inference he’d have CP on home computer
The fact defendant sought out child pornography from his work computer, coupled with the fact he had internet access at home, made it a reasonable inference that child pornography would be on his home computer. United States v. Mantha, 2018 … Continue reading
DE: Def’s texting victim was nexus to the cell phone
Defendant’s texting the victim gives nexus to the cell phone. There was a temporal limit on the warrant. State v. Rizzo, 2018 Del. Super. LEXIS 44 (Jan. 26, 2018) There was reasonable suspicion for seizure of a FedEx package from … Continue reading
OH5: Meeting drug buyer, going home, returning to the place of sale was nexus to house
Defendant met a drug buyer, drove to his house, and reunited with the buyer for the transaction. This gives sufficient probable cause for nexus to house. State v. Detamore, 2018-Ohio-297, 2018 Ohio App. LEXIS 274 (5th Dist. Jan. 25, 2018). … Continue reading
CA6: Computers, like guns, are usually kept at home, and that’s nexus for search of house for a computer [!?]
A computer, like a gun, is usually kept in the home, and a search warrant for a computer establishes nexus to search defendant’s house[!, really?]. Thus, there was no Fourth Amendment violation and alternatively there was qualified immunity. Peffer v. … Continue reading
N.D.Iowa: There is no constitutional difference between a drug dog’s “alert” and “indication”
There is no constitutional difference between a drug dog’s “alert” and “indication.” The dog’s actions and what it means to the handler are just a factor in probable cause to search. United States v. Herbst, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6516 … Continue reading
N.D.Iowa: Affidavit for SW was wholly deficient in showing nexus, and GFE does not save it
The affidavit for the search warrant for defendant’s house failed to show nexus to his house, and the affidavit on nexus was so deficient it doesn’t satsify the good faith exception. About all there was on the document was the … Continue reading
D.Minn.: Search of house for drug trafficking revealed a surveillance system and DVR; it was reasonable to conclude evidence of trafficking would be on it too for a separate SW
When executing a search warrant for drugs and guns, founded on a strong showing of probable cause, and the police finding pounds of methamphetamine and multiple firearms, discovery of surveillance cameras and a DVR not connected to a satellite or … Continue reading
CA10: SW affidavit was detailed, and Franks challenge targeted def’s being in pen during conspiracy; not shown reckless under Franks and GFE applies
Officers obtained a search warrant for defendant’s house for evidence of drug dealing for his being involved with a gang for years. The affidavit was detailed except that it only suggested defendant’s and another’s incarceration for eight years in the … Continue reading
PA: Nexus not shown for house, and no GFE under state law: def arrested blocks from home with firearm, and that doesn’t mean more at home
Defendant shot at a cop and committed other felonies. He was sentenced to 66-132 years. He was arrested as a prohibited person with a firearm blocks from his home. The state showed no nexus to the house for other evidence … Continue reading
NJ: Failure of affidavit for SW to say which apartment was def’s was fatal error under state const.
There was a reasonable basis for finding probable cause that drug sales were occurring from defendant’s house, but the affidavit for the warrant failed to show which apartment in a 30 unit complex was his. Since New Jersey doesn’t recognize … Continue reading