Archives
-
Recent Posts
- E.D.Cal.: Ptf doesn’t sufficiently allege access to private medical information violated 4A
- 404 Media: Surveillance Company Wants to Add Facial Recognition to Flock Cameras
- Reason: AI Facial Recognition Didn’t Put This Tennessee Grandma in Jail for 6 Months. Bad Policing Did.
- TX14: RS doesn’t even require an identifiable crime
- Jail searches: (1) body scan led to SW for body cavity search and (2) biometric scans reasonable
-
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: Probation / Parole search
IA: Federal supervised release search standards apply when leading to state prosecution
Conflict of laws: Where defendant’s supervised release search was by federal officers, federal law controls in state court, not state law. State v. Young, 2024 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 106 (Dec. 20, 2024). A motion to reconsider denial of a Fourth … Continue reading
MT: Cell phone probation search condition based on generalizations of cell phones and crime was unreasonable
This cell phone probation search condition based on generalizations of cell phones and crime was unreasonable. State v. LeDeau, 2024 MT 305 (Dec. 17, 2024). Plaintiff makes numerous claims against a city short term rental ordinance, including a Fourth Amendment … Continue reading
DE: PO’s failure to comply with juvenile probation search regulations on parental involvement justified suppression
The state’s policy on parental involvement in juvenile probation searches wasn’t complied with, and the juvenile’s home search is suppressed. The state’s assertion of exigency is rejected. Sharp v. State, 2024 Del. LEXIS 412 (Dec. 16, 2024). The court won’t … Continue reading
VI: GPS monitoring for pretrial release can be reasonable; here it was consented to as well
The VI code and rules of criminal procedure provide for electronic monitoring as a condition of pretrial release. GPS tracking is a search and involves a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy and would be reasonable if justified. Here it was … Continue reading
ID: City ordinance on trash collection did not create a REP in trash from police taking it
City ordinance on trash collection did not create a reasonable expectation of privacy in trash from police taking it for investigative purposes. State v. Pulizzi, 2024 Ida. LEXIS 132 (Nov. 29, 2024). The probation officer had a wealth of reasonable … Continue reading
CA8: Pro se def’s standby counsel not ineffective at suppression hearing; not counsel’s role
Defendant chose to go pro se at the suppression hearing, grudgingly accepting standby counsel. After the motion to suppress was denied, he claimed ineffective assistance by standby counsel for not doing more. But that’s not standby counsel’s role. United States … Continue reading
CA6: Defense counsel not ineffective for not forecasting Carpenter three years early
Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not forecasting Carpenter years before it was decided. Cooper v. United States, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 29853 (6th Cir. Nov. 22, 2024).* Defendant was on parole for a child exploitation offense, and he was polygraphed … Continue reading
OH1: Smoking MJ in public and jaywalking was RS for a patdown
“Mr. King challenges the foundation for the Terry stop, emphasizing that smoking marijuana in public and jaywalking are not arrestable offenses. True enough, but officers can issue tickets for both offenses. Cincinnati Mun.Code § 506-46 and 512-1; R.C. 3780.99(B). And … Continue reading
NM: Trial courts can raise search issues on their own
A trial judge in New Mexico noticed that there were an unusual number of suspect warrantless searches going unchallenged by the defense. She set suppression hearings and several cases were nolle prossed. A few survived to be heard. On certification … Continue reading
W.D.Mo.: Judge actually participating in seizure denied absolute immunity
A state judge is denied absolute immunity for allegedly participating in a seizure in the courthouse rather than just ordering it. Rockett ex rel. His Minor Children v. Eighmy, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 205918 (W.D. Mo. Nov. 13, 2024). A … Continue reading
D.D.C.: Seizure of def’s car keys from his friend was without PC
“The seizure of the keys from Williams’s friend was unlawful because the officers did not have probable cause to believe that the keys were evidence of a crime and the plain view doctrine did not apply.” Motion to suppress granted … Continue reading
S.D.Ill.: Code enforcement officer’s entry to construction site to stop work was not a “search”
A code enforcement officer’s entry onto plaintiff’s construction site to stop work in violation of the city code was not a Fourth Amendment search. And it was otherwise reasonable. Kindle v. Eisert, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 198527 (S.D. Ill. Oct. … Continue reading
S.D.W.Va.: The fact officers planned to stop def doesn’t mean they weren’t credible when they said he committed a traffic violation to justify it
Just because officers planned to stop defendant if they had a traffic offense to justify it doesn’t mean that they weren’t credible when they testified there was a traffic violation. United States v. Murphy, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 189184 (S.D. … Continue reading
IA: When there’s PC and the automobile exception, inventory irrelevant
There was probable cause for search of the car under the automobile exception so the impoundment and inventory are irrelevant. State v. Baylor, 2024 Iowa App. LEXIS 740 (Oct. 16, 2024).* Defendant’s car was parked with lights on at night … Continue reading
OH3: Even where the SW return was overlooked for a year, no exclusion
The state violated its rule 41 because the return was a year late. The exclusionary rule applies to constitutional violations, not rule violations, and the trial court erred in fashioning its own exclusionary rule here. State v. Nevels, 2024-Ohio-4964, 2024 … Continue reading
CA2: That a DNA sample was potentially excludable didn’t need to be disclosed in SW affidavit
There were two DNA samples here. The fact the second was potentially subject to suppression didn’t need to be disclosed in the affidavit for more testing. United States v. Green, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 25836 (2d Cir. Oct. 15, 2024). … Continue reading
D.Minn.: State law permits POs to conduct “unannounced visits” and that includes unannounced warrantless searches
State law gives parole officers the power to conduct “unannounced visits.” They also don’t have to announce warrantless searches. United States v. McClendon, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 186498 (D. Minn. Aug. 15, 2024).* Defendant’s trembling hands were enough to pass … Continue reading
FL1: Def’s refusal to admit computer searched was his denies him standing
At the suppression hearing, defendant refused to claim ownership of the computer the subject of the motion to suppress. Therefore, he has no standing. Alternatively, the good faith exception saves the search even if there was no probable cause. Bates … Continue reading
E.D.Wis.: Vehicle of arrested parolee still subject to parole search when he had no access to it
Even though this parolee was arrested and in custody, the vehicle he was in was still subject to search even though he was out of control of it at the time. His search incident on parole argument fails, too, as … Continue reading