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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: Knock and talk
E.D.Mich.: Knock-and-talk was so authoritative, opening door was a detention
“Based on the loud and persistent knocking of two to three minutes, occurring twice during the span of fifteen minutes, the use of an authoritative tone of voice when the officers announced their presence, and the significant police presence at … Continue reading
IL: Odor of marijuana detected during a knock-and-talk was reasonably obtained
Odor of marijuana detected during a knock-and-talk was reasonably obtained. People v. Brandt, 2019 IL App (4th) 180219, 2019 Ill. App. LEXIS 224 (Apr. 2, 2019). There was probable cause for plaintiff’s arrest for constructive possession. He was long time … Continue reading
IN: Officer at front door to do knock-and-talk could look through gap in blinds
Officer who was at front of house to do a knock and talk did not conduct an illegal search when he heard noise inside and looked through a gap in the blinds. Jardines is distinguished, and the court used the … Continue reading
CA6: Knock-and-talk on curtilage was permitted
Officers came to plaintiff’s home for a knock-and-talk, and he went out the back with a gun in hand. One officer pursued him, and he ended up racking and pointing the gun and getting shot. The officers get qualified immunity … 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
NC: Officers doing a knock-and-talk didn’t unreasonably “linger” in violation of Jardines
Officers could enter defendant’s driveway to conduct a knock-and-talk, and they didn’t “linger” long in violation of Jardines. They smelled marijuana coming from the garage, and that was sufficient to get a search warrant. Defendant’s argument about the sign on … Continue reading
W.D.N.Y.: A knock-and-talk can lead to seizure of a computer on exigency
After a few bizarre sexual Aol chat sessions, defendant was seeking communication from minors for sex. The police were informed and did a knock-and-talk, and he admitted the communiques and that the laptop in the room was the one involved. … Continue reading
CA5: 2 am knock-and-talk that led to alleged consent and excessive force claim gets no QI
2 a.m. knock and talk may have been unreasonable, and summary judgment for officers is reversed. Plaintiff closed her door and they insisted upon entry. The officers were investigating whether plaintiff’s son committed trespass that night. Plaintiff also stated a … Continue reading
CA6: SWAT team surrounding a house for a knock-and-talk violates 4A
Sending the SWAT team to surround a house for a knock-and-talk violated the Fourth Amendment. Having officers in the backyard for officer safety may serve that function, but it’s still a violation of the curtilage under the Fourth Amendment. There … Continue reading
LA5: Knock-and-talk cannot be used to create exigency
Officers came to defendant’s house because a couple of drug suspects had visited him. The officers’ knock-and-talk didn’t gain them entry into the house, and a knock-and-talk can’t be used to create exigent circumstances. A protective sweep was unjustified because … Continue reading
NC: Knock-and-talk at side door was unreasonable; the fact def’s friends and occasional buyers went to that door and not obvious front door isn’t an excuse
The police did a knock-and-talk and went to a side door. A knock-and-talk is limited to the door the public goes to. The fact an occasional visitor defendant knew well was permitted to go to another door doesn’t give the … Continue reading
CA11: Ten officers for a “knock and talk” violated Jardines, but it wasn’t the cause of the search of the house
Ten officers approaching defendant’s house for a “knock-and-talk” violated Jardines, but that doesn’t matter because it didn’t lead to the discovery of evidence. Defendant didn’t see them, and he opened the door in response to the knock. Then the officer … Continue reading
W.D.Mo.: During the knock-and-talk def was not “in custody” for Miranda purposes
During the knock-and-talk at defendant’s apartment, he was not “in custody” for Miranda purposes, and his statements could be used against him. United States v. Butler, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 201765 (W.D. Mo. Nov. 16, 2017), adopted, 2017 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
CA11: Parolee has no REP where he stays
Officers had cause for a protective sweep as well as consent from defendant’s girlfriend to search her apartment where he often stayed. A shotgun was in plain view. Defendant also had no standing because he was a parolee. United States … Continue reading
FL: A “No Soliciting” sign posted on a home’s front door does not prohibit a knock-and-talk
A “No Soliciting” sign posted on a home’s front door does not prohibit law enforcement officers from conducting a knock-and-talk. People can still approach the front door under Jardines. It’s the law enforcement diversion from business at the door that … Continue reading
OH1: Leaving drug house under surveillance for two weeks was RS
It was reasonable suspicion for defendant to visit a house under surveillance for two weeks as a drug house with detailed collection of information about comings and goings. State v. Donohue, 2017 Ohio App. LEXIS 3668 (1st Dist. Aug. 25, … Continue reading
N.D.Fla.: Entry onto 3-4 acre plot for knock-and-talk lawfully entered curtilage
Defendant lived on a 3-4 acre plot, and police lawfully entered through an open gate to conduct a knock-and-talk at defendant’s door. Exactly where the curtilage ends isn’t clear, but it certainly was close to the house where they were. … Continue reading