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- CA6: State officer’s arrest for violation of federal MJ law likely wouldn’t violate 4A
- D.N.M.: Shared driveway outside of fence and gate was not curtilage
- CA6: Knowing passcode to cell phone shows common authority over it to consent
- VI: Smell of MJ no longer PC in VI since legalization
- Reason: 3 Charlotte Cops Resign After Group Chat Reveals Competition To Arrest the Most Black People
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Feedspot’s Best Legal Blogs and Websites 2023-2026,
also, firm website Top 90 Criminal Law Blogs 2026 -
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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: Arrest or entry on arrest
OH11: Officers had reason to believe def at home; entry and plain view valid
Officers had an arrest warrant for defendant and knocked at her apartment door saying only “Sheriff’s Office.” A falsetto voice said “Ashley’s not here.” Officers responded “How do you know we’re looking for Ashley?” They were let in, and they … Continue reading
OH4: PC not required for a traffic stop; it only requires RS
Probable cause is not required to justify a traffic stop; reasonable suspicion is enough. State v. Taylor, 2016-Ohio-1231, 2016 Ohio App. LEXIS 1124 (4th Dist. March 11, 2016). Defendant was taken to the police station, so he was arrested without … Continue reading
IA: While no “hot pursuit” of DUI suspect into his house, def’s belligerent attitude justified exigency for entry
Defendant was driving under the influence, having run into a building, and the police were called. When officers got to defendant’s home, he was somewhat belligerent, and the police ultimately entered the house. Distinguishing Welsh v. Wisconsin and admitting there … Continue reading
CA1: Def’s answer to book-in as to employment that he was “a drug dealer” was admissible at trial
The CI said defendant had a gun and crack. Surveilling the defendant, officers noticed him reaching for his waistband, indicating he was likely armed. The stop and frisk was based on reasonable suspicion from the surveillance corroborating the gun. At … Continue reading
MN: Arrest warrant permitted entry to arrest short term guest known to be in house
When police have probable cause to believe that the subject of a valid arrest warrant is present as a short-term social guest at another person’s residence, police may enter that residence to effectuate the arrest pursuant to the warrant without … Continue reading
W.D.La.: That defendant was “staying” at a residence satisfies Payton’s “reason to believe” requirement
That defendant was “staying” at a residence satisfies Payton’s “reason to believe” requirement he’s residing there. United States v. Washington, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176979 (W.D.La. Nov. 18, 2015), adopted 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35051 (W.D. La. Mar. 16, 2016):
CA3: Entry for arrest was virtual hot pursuit; door opened on knock
An off-duty officer witnessed a robbery at a 7-Eleven at 4:30 am and followed the masked man out on the street where the mask was removed, and he got a look at the robber’s face. He followed to a duplex … Continue reading
D.Mont.: No standing in car as passenger; difference between an illegal stop and illegal detention
Defendant was a passenger in a stolen car, and there was no showing he knew anything about it so there was no probable cause for his arrest. But, he had no standing in the car in the first place, and … Continue reading
D.Mont.: Govt had insufficient evidence defendant lived at place searched to enter with arrest warrant
The police had insufficient evidence defendant resided at the place searched to justify entry under an arrest warrant. “The government contends that the following facts, in combination, were sufficient to establish probable cause that Doney lived at 108 Buena Vista: … Continue reading
CA9: A “dilapidated” shack behind a house on the curtilage was still a place subject to the Fourth Amendment
A “dilapidated” shack behind a house on the curtilage was still a place subject to the Fourth Amendment, but the entry without a warrant claim goes forward. They get qualified immunity on the knock-and-announce violation. Deputies entered and shot a … Continue reading
D.N.M.: Warrant not required to enter curtilage to arrest defendant on his own porch
A search warrant is not required to arrest a suspect on his front porch, clearly curtilage. United States v. Soza, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23352 (D.N.M. Feb. 24, 2016). The court agonizes and discusses all the possibilities for 60+ pages … Continue reading
NE: Entry into third party’s home with arrest warrants and PC def was there complied with Steagald
Local officers recognized defendant’s truck and him as having a host of warrants for his arrest as well as an order of protection out. He was believed to be potentially violent. Police saw him parked at a third party’s house, … Continue reading
NYTimes: New York Police Faulted by Agency for Unlawful Searches
NYTimes: New York Police Faulted by Agency for Unlawful Searches by Al Baker:
NE: Failure to announce entry to execute a misd warrant on ptf’s grandson survived summary judgment; interests rule serves are important
The trial court erred in granting summary judgment for officers who entered plaintiff’s home to arrest her grandson without announcing and with force. A question of fact is presented on the failure to announce, and it serves important interests. The … Continue reading
LA4: Custodial arrest for pedestrian offense was unreasonable and violation of statute
The state’s petition for a supervisory writ is denied. Defendant was stopped for a pedestrian offense, and arresting him was unreasonable and a violation of statute. He should have been cited, and the trial court’s suppression order was correct. State … Continue reading
CA2: Protective sweep justified in executing arrest warrant for murder suspect
The protective sweep of defendant’s Florida home was justified because he was wanted for murder during a drug trafficking crime. Officers saw pictures of defendant with gang members, and defendant consented to their seizure. United States v. Guerrero, 2016 U.S. … Continue reading
S.D.Tex.: Seizing defendant’s money and cell phone and then spending only three minutes in the back of a police car was not “custody” for Miranda
Seizing defendant’s money and cell phone and then spending only three minutes in the back of a police car was not “custody” for Miranda purposes. United States v. Broca-Martinez, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17077 (S.D.Tex. Feb. 11, 2016)*: