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Recent Posts
- 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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Fourth Amendment cases,
citations, and links -
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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)
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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 -
"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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Monthly Archives: September 2017
CA11: Opening car door to check window tint was reasonable
“On this record, opening the car door to test the window tint did not violate the Fourth Amendment since it satisfied the factors in Class — the safety of the officers was served by the governmental intrusion, the intrusion was … Continue reading
MD: 40 years after questioning inventory, the author of those opinions comes around to embrace inventory
The vehicle inventory was caught on body camera, and the officer failed to include the spare tire, jack, and jumper cables. That did not make the inventory invalid. In addition, a valid inventory with a mixed motive is not unreasonable … Continue reading
NY4: Drug testing condition of probation unenforceable without showing def needs it
Defendant’s drug testing condition of probation is unenforceable because there were no findings of drug or alcohol abuse in his past to justify it. People v. Saraceni, 2017 NY Slip Op 06732, 2017 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6746 (4th Dept. … 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
WaPo: Apple is opening up amid privacy questions about Face ID, personal data collection
WaPo: Apple is opening up amid privacy questions about Face ID, personal data collection by Hayley Tsukayama: Apple released more details about the iPhone X’s Face ID feature when it published a new privacy site Wednesday, addressing some of the concerns … Continue reading
OH4: Community caretaking function applies to unresponsive person in car
Officers did not seize defendant’s car when they approached and knocked on the window to rouse him. That was valid under the community caretaking function. They had reasonable suspicion, however, because he was disoriented, jittery, nervous, had dilated pupils, glassy … Continue reading
TX14: Def had no standing in cell phone he gave to his girlfriend
Defendant had no standing in a cell phone that he gave to his girlfriend and referred to as her cell phone. It was stolen from her and searched to locate the possible owner, and the phone had video of defendant … Continue reading
TX14: SW seizure of things besides child pornography to show def’s connection to the premises did not make the search unreasonable
The affidavit for the search warrant for defendant’s home and computer for child pornography was based on probable cause. The seizure of things besides child pornography to show defendant’s connection to the premises did not make the search unreasonable. (§ … Continue reading
TX: Search incident still justified by discovery of a different offense after arrest
The court of appeals erred in holding that a search incident to arrest could not be justified by discovery of a different offense after arrest. As long as there was probable cause to arrest for the newly-discovered offense, and the … Continue reading
CA9: Rodriguez taint from one stop affected a later one where the first officer had to let the vehicle go when the dog was delayed
The district court did not err during a civil forfeiture action when it granted a claimant’s motion to suppress $167,070 a sheriff’s deputy found in a mobile home the claimant was driving, ordered the Government to return the money, and … Continue reading
The Hill: Pass the Protecting Data at the Border Act
The Hill: Pass the Protecting Data at the Border Act by Adam Schwartz and Sophia Cope:
WaPo: D.C. police oversight agency says complaints are rising over searches
WaPo: D.C. police oversight agency says complaints are rising over searches by Peter Hermann: A D.C. police oversight board says it has received an increased number of complaints about officers conducting searches of people, vehicles and houses without obtaining proper consent, … Continue reading
NYTimes: Dismayed by Trump, Head of Drug Enforcement Administration to Leave
NYTimes: Dismayed by Trump, Head of Drug Enforcement Administration to Leave by Michael S. Schmidt: The acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration will resign at the end of the week, according to law enforcement officials, who said he had become … Continue reading
Baltimore Sun: Baltimore prosecutors drop dozens more cases involving indicted officers, others shown in body camera footage
Baltimore Sun: Baltimore prosecutors drop dozens more cases involving indicted officers, others shown in body camera footage by Kevin Rector: Prosecutors in Baltimore have decided to drop dozens of additional criminal cases that relied on the testimony of eight city … Continue reading
The Guardian: Opinion: Why the decriminalisation of marijuana is a civil rights cause
The Guardian: Opinion: Why the decriminalisation of marijuana is a civil rights cause by Al Sharpton: Generations of Americans – mostly people of colour – have been crushed by aggressive laws on marijuana. It’s time for that to change.
Cert. granted: Collins v. Virginia (does automobile exception apply to search a vehicle parked near to a house on curtilage)
Cert. granted: Collins v. Virginia, 16-1027 (ScotusBlog) Issue: Whether the Fourth Amendment’s automobile exception permits a police officer, uninvited and without a warrant, to enter private property, approach a house and search a vehicle parked a few feet from the … Continue reading
LawNewz: DOJ Seeking Info on 6000 People Who ‘Liked’ Anti-Trump Facebook Page
LawNewz: DOJ Seeking Info on 6000 People Who ‘Liked’ Anti-Trump Facebook Page by Alberto Luperon Fortune: The Trump Administration Is Targeting Anti-Trump Facebook Users by David Meyer Engadget: ACLU challenges DOJ request for info on 6,000 anti-Trump Facebook users by … Continue reading
SCOTUSBlog: Argument preview: Parties, probable cause and the Fourth Amendment (DC v. Wesby)
SCOTUSBlog: Argument preview: Parties, probable cause and the Fourth Amendment (DC v. Wesby) by Amy Howe: When District of Columbia police officers Andre Parker and Anthony Campanale responded to reports of unauthorized goings-on at a supposedly vacant home nearly a … Continue reading
TN: SW issuing magistrates have only district-wide jurisdiction and couldn’t issue SW here
By statute, magistrates issuing search warrants have only district-wide jurisdiction, and here the magistrate lacked authority to issue the search warrant at issue. The state did not show any exceptions. State v. Frazier, 2017 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 861 (Sept. … Continue reading
E.D.N.Y.: Under SCA, govt has to show disclosure of inquiry to target “will” hamper investigation, not just “may”
The gag order provisions of the SCA requires the government show that disclosure “will” hamper the investigation, but the government only showed “may,” and that’s not enough. Denied without prejudice to show “will.” In re Grand Jury Subpoena, 2016 U.S. … Continue reading