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Recent Posts
- Bloomberg Law: Texas’ 100-Plus Year Investigatory Tool Ruled Unconstitutional
- D.Minn.: State law permits POs to conduct “unannounced visits” and that includes unannounced warrantless searches
- E.D.Va.: Three images from ALPR in 30 days wasn’t enough for a Carpenter violation
- CA5: The 4A doesn’t limit the number of officers that show up for an administrative search
- D.Idaho: The exclusionary rule does not apply in pretrial release revocations
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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 (27,400+ on WordPress as of 7/23/24) -
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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)
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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: Forfeiture
IN: Warrantless pulling on a loose car door panel was with PC and reasonable
The officer’s warrantless pulling on a loose car door panel with probable cause was not an unreasonable search under the Fourth Amendment or state constitution. Young v. State, 2024 Ind. App. LEXIS 279 (Oct. 4, 2024). The arrival of drug … Continue reading
S.D.Ohio: Indicia of residency can be subject to search and seizure under a SW
The search warrant could seek to seize documents tending to show defendant’s control of the premises [indicia of ownership or control] under the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Moore, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119486 (S.D. Ohio July 2, 2024). There … Continue reading
D.Ariz.: “The standard for probable cause in forfeiture proceedings resembles that required to support a search warrant”
“‘The standard for probable cause in forfeiture proceedings resembles that required to support a search warrant. The determination of probable cause is based upon a “totality of the circumstances” test, and the government’s evidence must be more than that which … Continue reading
E.D.N.Y.: iCloud SW was particular to time and offenses
“The Court finds both the iCloud and Midwood Lumber Warrants were sufficiently particularized and tethered to the Affidavits’ probable cause showings, thereby meeting the Fourth Amendment’s requirements.” … “[I]he iCloud Warrant identifies the property to be searched as “information associated … Continue reading
Econlib: Drug Prohibition, Exclusionary Rule, Fourth Amendment, Opportunity Costs, US v Regan
Econlib: Drug Prohibition, Exclusionary Rule, Fourth Amendment, Opportunity Costs, US v Regan by Tarnell Brown:
Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas sets higher bar for police seizure after accusations of for-profit policing
Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas sets higher bar for police seizure after accusations of for-profit policing by Jack Harvel (“Kansas reformed civil asset forfeiture — the law enforcement tactic of seizing property suspected of being used in a crime — to be … Continue reading
S.D.N.Y.: Overseas seizure of Russian oligarch’s megayacht not governed by 4A
This megayacht was seized overseas for Russia sanctions. (Eduard Yurievich Khudainatov is the owner, and he’s a Russian oligarch who is a Putin proxy (per Forbes)) The claim that the initial seizure may have violated the Fourth Amendment fails because … Continue reading
N.D.Ohio: Refusing discovery on 4A grounds in forfeiture case results in no standing
On remand from the Sixth Circuit in this forfeiture case on the question of standing, claimant asserted Fourth Amendment privilege to all discovery requests about his standing to claim the money. The court finds no facts for standing means no … Continue reading
Forfeiture of property of the innocent: The Bulwark: It’s Too Easy for Police to Take Your Stuff
The Bulwark: It’s Too Easy for Police to Take Your Stuff by Matthew Prensky and Arif Panju:
N.D.Tex.: Rule 41 doesn’t apply to forfeiture actions; Supplemental Rule G(8)(a) does
The government sought forfeiture of the owner’s cash after it was seized at DFW after a dog sniff on his bag. The owner responded with a motion to suppress under Rule 41, but that doesn’t apply in forfeiture cases. Supplemental … Continue reading
E.D.La.: Seizure of car for inventory on seeing gun was without PC; “post hoc” claim of PC falls on deaf ears because they never acted like there was
Officers procured multiple warrants for defendant’s apartment, a cooler, and another vehicle, but never his car. Then they saw a gun in the car and decided to inventory. The government also claimed probable cause and a valid reason for seizure, … Continue reading
E.D.Tenn.: Items unreasonably seized under SW as outside its scope still not returned because they are forfeitable
Some of the items seized under the warrant were named or were covered by plain view when the police got inside. Some are excludable, but they aren’t returned because the government intends to forfeit. United States v. Abdul-Latif, 2023 U.S. … Continue reading
NYT: Cars Seized by Police Get Supreme Court Scrutiny in Civil Forfeiture Case
NYT: Cars Seized by Police Get Supreme Court Scrutiny in Civil Forfeiture Case by Adam Liptak (“Several justices seemed wary of allowing law enforcement officials to take vehicles used to commit crimes when their owners were not at fault.”) This … Continue reading
techdirt: How The Courts Have Made It Easier For Cops To Steal From Citizens
techdirt: How The Courts Have Made It Easier For Cops To Steal From Citizens by Tim Cushing (“It’s always been easy for cops to take stuff from people. Civil asset forfeiture allows law enforcement to bypass most of the Constitution … 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
NYT: In Memphis, Car Seizures Are a Lucrative and Punishing Police Tactic
NYT: In Memphis, Car Seizures Are a Lucrative and Punishing Police Tactic by Jessica Jaglois and Mike Baker (“It has been used to combat street racing and other crimes, but critics said that vehicles have been kept for months from … Continue reading
Reason: Lawsuit: Prosecutors Filed Bogus Charges Against Detroit Man in Retaliation for Challenging Seizure of Car
Reason: Lawsuit: Prosecutors Filed Bogus Charges Against Detroit Man in Retaliation for Challenging Seizure of Car by C.A. Ciaramella (“The Institute for Justice says Robert Reeves’ First Amendment rights were violated when prosecutors filed and refiled baseless felony charges against … Continue reading
NE: Failure to deliver SW to def not 4A violation and doesn’t warrant suppression
Defendant was the subject of a search warrant for a blood draw. The fact he wasn’t given a copy of the warrant doesn’t require reversal. He clearly knew what was going on. State v. Svendgard, 31 Neb. App. 596, 2023 … Continue reading
WaPo: Police thought his cash was suspicious. So they took it. And won’t give it back.
WaPo: Police thought his cash was suspicious. So they took it. And won’t give it back. by George F. Will: