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- CA5: Even if parole search was to aid criminal investigation, it was still reasonable
- IN: Cell phone linked to murder by TM sent before; PC for search
- C.D.Cal.: Inquiry into actions of others besides the officers involved in search is a new Bivens claim and barred
- D.Minn.: Regular CI had “extensive knowledge of street gangs, firearms, and narcotics distribution”; there was PC
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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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--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) -
“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: Excessive force
D.C.Cir.: The sealing of SW for def’s Facebook account has no bearing on reversibility of the conviction; release pending appeal denied
Release pending appeal denied. “Fourth, Ballenger has not shown that her arguments regarding the sealing of documents obtained under the search warrant for her Facebook account present a substantial question as to, or had any material impact on, the validity … Continue reading
CA4: Ptf, a contract jail nurse, states a claim for being strip searched when mistaken for inmate [in scrubs]
Plaintiff is a nurse, and, for her first day on the job at this jail, she was accidentally strip searched when she was mistaken for a weekender. She stated a claim for relief that survives summary judgment and qualified immunity. … Continue reading
TX5: lack of a prompt determination of PC to detain def is moot by the time the trial starts
The lack of a prompt determination of probable cause to detain defendant is moot by the time the trial starts. Moses v. State, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 950 (Tex. App. – Dallas Feb. 6, 2024). “Taking as true that Agent … Continue reading
OH8: Graham v. Connor reasonableness standard applied where police are charged with assault on civilians
Defendant was a Cleveland PD officer convicted of misdemeanor assault on a civilian by putting his hands around the throat of an arrestee. Even under the Garner standard for Fourth Amendment reasonableness, the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict. … Continue reading
CA5: This circuit’s “moment of threat” doctrine for excessive force should be re-examined as contrary to Garner
The “moment of threat” doctrine of excessive force cases in this circuit seems contrary to Tennessee v. Garner, and it should be revisited by the whole court. Barnes v. Felix, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 1530 (5th Cir. Jan. 23, 2024):
N.D.Ga.: Use of cell phone cash app to facilitate PPP fraud justified SW for phone
Use of a cell phone cash app to facilitate spending PPP loan fraud justified warrant for phone. United States v. Foster, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11369 (N.D. Ga. Jan. 22, 2024). Codefendant’s case: United States v. Baptiste, 2024 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
W.D.Ark.: Manhandling a diabetic who passed out while driving gets no QI; law well established
Plaintiff, a diabetic, had a car wreck while in a low blood sugar episode. From the court’s opinion, it’s clear the officers had no idea what they were doing when they handcuffed and Tased her for no apparent reason, then … Continue reading
CA8: Police dog’s accidental biting of guest of officer not 4A excessive force
Police dog’s charging and biting a guest of the officer was accidental, not excessive force. Fourth Amendment claim dismissed. Whitworth v. Kling, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 1039 (8th Cir. Jan. 17, 2024) (The court cited a 1999 Arkansas case that … Continue reading
Guam: Seizure of USB found during frisk for officer safety unreasonable; clearly not a weapon
During a stop for stalled car, officer safety dictated the officer conduct a patdown. Seizure of a USB off defendant’s keyring was unreasonable. The stop should have ended there. Instead, the officer asked for consent which the court finds involuntary … Continue reading
D.Mass.: No PC here, and government’s GFE argument is generic and unhelpful
The affidavit for warrant here failed to show probable cause to believe a pill manufacturing operation would be found there. There was old information in the affidavit, but it was stale on its own. Also, defendants moved in the meantime … Continue reading
CA6: Def’s getting CI’s call and driving to controlled buy and home was nexus for SW
Defendant’s being in his home when he received a call from the CI for a controlled buy and then his driving to the buy and back was sufficient nexus. United States v. Badley, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 33031 (6th Cir. … Continue reading
LA2: Arrest allegedly in violation of 4A leads to officer’s indictment, which is quashed because of justification
The officer here was charged with malfeasance in office for violating the Fourth Amendment by handcuffing a detainee for whom he was told there was an arrest warrant after he revoked consent to search: “I have someone you can talk … Continue reading
CT: SW mentioned in a police report wasn’t Brady information
An FBI 302 mentioned a search warrant, and all of this in context did not amount to a Brady violation. Reyes v. State, 2023 Conn. App. LEXIS 272 (Nov. 28, 2023). “We conclude, based on the record, that the district … Continue reading
CA5: Siccing police dog on woman in mental health crisis was excessive force; no crime involved
“Without any further attempts to subdue Sligh without the use of a dog bite, and without providing Sligh any warning that she may be subjected to a dog bite if she did not comply, Sutton sicced a dog on a … Continue reading
CA11: The bodycam video showed the altercation with ptf and hospital security was reasonable
The bodycam video of plaintiff’s altercation with two hospital security guards showed they were entitled to qualified immunity. Scott v. Harris. Bouvier v. City of Covington, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 30822 (11th Cir. Nov. 20, 2023).* In excessive force cases, … Continue reading
CA8: Officer corroborated only CI’s objective information, not the crux, but that was enough for PC for automobile exception
There was no corroboration of the incriminating part of the CI’s tale that defendant, a convicted felon, kept a gun hidden under the hood of his car. “But Officer Princivalli had no reason to find Moore’s statements untrustworthy or unreliable. … Continue reading
CA11: Gov’t adequately protected against A-C materials being searched in border search of Venezuelan attorney’s cell phone; “no privileged material was ever found”
Defendant was a Venezuelan attorney whose cell phone was searched at the border. He said there likely was privileged attorney-client information on his phone, but it was searched under a DHS protocols to safeguard privileged information and legal advice was … Continue reading
N.D.Ala.: 4A does not require gun seen in protective sweep be immediately seized; SW was obtained
If officers saw defendant’s .22 during a protective sweep, the Fourth Amendment doesn’t require that it be seized immediately. It can be seized during execution of the later issued search warrant. A .22 is not a weapon of choice for … Continue reading
IL: In this forfeiture seizure, the car could not be inventoried; contents were to be returned to the owner
Officers attempted a stop of a vehicle potentially involved in an earlier occurrence. Instead of stopping, the driver fled from the stop in the car. Instead of pursuing, officers had the LPN and went to where it was registered, and … Continue reading
E.D.Wis.: No REP in common area of apt building, despite state law to contrary
Rejecting state law to the contrary, the district court holds that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in the common area of an apartment building under the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Love, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 186921 (E.D. … Continue reading