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- CA11: Yahoo not a govt actor in scanning emails for CSAM
- Treatise 25% off through 7/8
- SCOTUS: Geofence warrants governed by Carpenter and are a search; remanded for resolution of issues (interesting take on third party doctrine, too)
- The Guardian: ‘It’s dangerous and it’s going to erode trust’: redesign of US government websites stokes surveillance fears
- W.D.N.Y.: Possibility of co-conspirators in mass murder justified emergency disclosure request to Apple, Verizon, and Facebook
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ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2015-17) (then discontinued)
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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 -
Latest Slip Opinions:
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Foreign Intell.Surv.Ct.
FDsys, many district courts, other federal courts
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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
Research Links:
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"On the Docket"–Medill
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General (many free):
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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)
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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)
--Federal Laws Relating to Cybersecurity: Discussion of Proposed Revisions (2012)
ACLU on privacy
Privacy Foundation
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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)
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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: Surveillance technology
NPR: War On Terror Birthed Pentagon’s Automated Biometrics Identification System
NPR: War On Terror Birthed Pentagon’s Automated Biometrics Identification System by Steve Inskeep (“NPR’s Steve Inskeep talks to investigative reporter Annie Jacobsen, author of the new book, First Platoon, about how the U.S. has employed the use of biometric data … Continue reading
CNS: LA Police Commission Adopts Oversight Measures for Facial Recognition Tool
CNS: LA Police Commission Adopts Oversight Measures for Facial Recognition Tool by Martin Macias Jr. (“The LAPD’s promise of robust oversight for facial recognition technology in police work hasn’t quelled concerns from civil liberties groups that the tools will perpetuate … Continue reading
Geofence warrants can be used to identify those who invaded the Capitol, not to mention Facebook warrants
The government’s prior use of geofence warrants were a prelude to this: With the invasion of the Capitol on Wednesday, the government now can attempt to locate all the cell phones inside the Capitol to identify those to potentially charge. … Continue reading
NBC News: Insecure wheels: Police turn to car data to destroy suspects’ alibis
NBC News: Insecure wheels: Police turn to car data to destroy suspects’ alibis by Olivia Solon (“Looser privacy standards for vehicle data are a treasure chest of data for law enforcement.”)
Vox: The real cost of smart speakers
Vox: The real cost of smart speakers by Sam Ellis (“But essentially, smart speakers are microphones that connect to the internet. And they come with a hidden cost: some of our privacy. After listening to our questions and demands, these … Continue reading
NBC News: Police in Jackson, Mississippi, want access to live home security video, alarming privacy advocates
NBC News: Police in Jackson, Mississippi, want access to live home security video, alarming privacy advocates by Jon Schuppe & Bracey Harris (“Civil liberties advocates warn that a new surveillance tool will put people’s everyday household activities under potential scrutiny … Continue reading
Filter: DEA Pursues Vast Expansion of Patient Surveillance
Filter: DEA Pursues Vast Expansion of Patient Surveillance by Sessi Kuwabara Blanchard (“The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is looking to expand its anti-diversion surveillance infrastructure by being able to search and analyze myriad patient behaviors for the vast majority of … Continue reading
Vice: Police Are Tapping Into Ring Cameras to Expand Surveillance Network In Mississippi
Vice: Police Are Tapping Into Ring Cameras to Expand Surveillance Network In Mississippi by Edward Ongweso Jr (“The police department in Jackson, Mississippi is partnering with two companies to stream surveillance footage from Ring cameras in a 45-day pilot program.”)
CNET: Google is giving data to police based on search keywords, court docs show
CNET: Google is giving data to police based on search keywords, court docs show by Alfred Ng (“Court records in an arson case show that Google gave away data on people who searched for a specific address.”)
techdirt: DHS Probably Didn’t Clone Phones To Intercept Protesters’ Communications
techdirt: DHS Probably Didn’t Clone Phones To Intercept Protesters’ Communications by Tim Cushing:
Slate: It’s Time for a Reckoning About This Foundational Piece of Police Technology
Slate: It’s Time for a Reckoning About This Foundational Piece of Police Technology by Rashida Richardson and Amba Kak (“Criminal intelligence databases may seem unobjectionable in an era of facial recognition and predictive policing. But they are deeply flawed, too.”)
EFF: Things to Know Before Your Neighborhood Installs an Automated License Plate Reader
EFF: Things to Know Before Your Neighborhood Installs an Automated License Plate Reader by Jason Kelley and Matthew Guariglia (“Every week EFF receives emails from members of homeowner’s associations wondering if their Homeowner’s Association (HOA) or Neighborhood Association is making … Continue reading
The Intercept: Operation Legend is Bringing Surveillance Tech to Cities
The Intercept: Operation Legend is Bringing Surveillance Tech to Cities by Ktaya Schwenk (“Using federal grants, cities are contracting with companies that hack smartphones and detect gunshots.”)
AP: Appeals court hears Baltimore’s aerial surveillance case
AP: Appeals court hears Baltimore’s aerial surveillance case by Regina Garcia Cano (“A panel of federal appeals court judges on Thursday appeared to have differing views on whether an aerial surveillance program in Baltimore should continue to be tested as … Continue reading
CNN Business: Portland passes broadest facial recognition ban in the US
CNN Business: Portland passes broadest facial recognition ban in the US by Rachel Metz (“The city of Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday banned the use of facial-recognition technology by city departments — including local police — as well as public-facing businesses … Continue reading
Vice: Faulty Facial Recognition Led to His Arrest—Now He’s Suing
Vice: Faulty Facial Recognition Led to His Arrest—Now He’s Suing by Natalie O’Neill (“Michael Oliver is the second Black man found to be wrongfully arrested by Detroit police because of the technology—and his lawyers suspect there are many more.”)
New LR article: Local Police Surveillance and the Administrative Fourth Amendment
Mailyn Fidler, Local Police Surveillance and the Administrative Fourth Amendment, 36 Santa Clara High Tech. L.J. 481 (2020).
EFF: Proctoring Apps Subject Students to Unnecessary Surveillance
EFF: Proctoring Apps Subject Students to Unnecessary Surveillance by Jason Kelley & Lindsay Oliver (“With COVID-19 forcing millions of teachers and students to rethink in-person schooling, this moment is ripe for an innovation in learning. Unfortunately, many schools have simply … Continue reading
FL4: Surreptitious video surveillance in Kraft spa case was unreasonable for lack of minimization
The warranted video surveillance of the spa in the Kraft case was unreasonable for lack of minimization to protect privacy. The law on surreptitious surveillance and minimization is well settled. “The type of law enforcement surveillance utilized in these cases … Continue reading
CNET: License plate tracking for police set to go nationwide
CNET: License plate tracking for police set to go nationwide by Alfred Ng (“A company that makes a license plate reader announces a national network for law enforcement to follow car movements. It’s already in more than 700 cities.”)