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Recent Posts
- W.D.Wash.: DNA warrant isssued with PC not quashed before execution
- S.D.Ohio: Defense of denial of possession in drug case meant no assertion of standing to challenge the search, so no IAC
- N.D.Okla.: Anticipatory tracking warrant for money counter is without authority and nexus is speculative even if not
- CA9: Supervised release condition of financial disclosure permitted under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and didn’t violate 4A
- N.D.Ohio: Refusing discovery on 4A grounds in forfeiture case results in no standing
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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,
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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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"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 2018
Hard|OCP: Invite Police Officers into Your Home with Apple Watch’s Auto-911 Feature
Hard|OCP: Invite Police Officers into Your Home with Apple Watch’s Auto-911 Feature: Legal professionals are warning the Apple Watch could open owners up to criminal liability due to a new feature that automatically dials 911 if it senses the wearer … Continue reading
D.Kan.: All SW needed to prove was that def had a Facebook account, but the police sought the entire contents of the account; suppressed as overbroad
Defendant doesn’t lose standing to contest a Facebook warrant because he’s a sex offender and the Facebook terms of service state that sex offenders can’t have accounts. He had an account, and he had standing. While this court has found … Continue reading
N.D.Ill.: No IAC for not challenging CSLI without warrant before Carpenter
Defendant didn’t get ineffective assistance of counsel from defense counsel not challenging warrantless CSLI production without a warrant before Carpenter. United States v. Lewisbey, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165566 (N.D. Ill. Sep. 27, 2018). Defendant claimed for the first time … Continue reading
W.D.Ky.: CI’s been buying heroin from def for 3 years, and that’s PC
The named CI’s statement she’d been buying heroin from defendant for three years was probable cause. United States v. Haqq, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165936 (W.D. Ky. Sep. 27, 2018).* Probable cause here was based on the CI’s statement and … Continue reading
E.D.N.Y.: CSLI obtained 7 years before Carpenter was in good faith
Defendant was tried in 2011. He was scheduled to be sentenced in 2018. He filed a motion to reopen the suppression hearing of his CSLI obtained under the SCA because of Carpenter. Denied; good faith exception applies. United States v. … Continue reading
TX6: Intentionally leaving phone behind to avoid tracking was still abandonment
Defendant claimed that she did not abandon her cell phone; she willingly left it behind so her partner couldn’t track her. Still, the password was known and that’s how the private search occurred which revealed sex acts with children on … Continue reading
DE: Police corroborated masked juvenile robber’s identity enough to get SW for his place
Defendant juvenile was in a Walgreens with his stepfather, and the sales clerk suspected he’d robbed them two weeks earlier wearing the same clothes. The Walgreens reward number of the father was used to track the address of the juvenile. … Continue reading
D.Md.: Excessive force faction of 4A does not apply to property damage claims
The excessive force faction of the Fourth Amendment does not apply to property damage claims. Quality Care Daycare Bup, LLC v. Jones, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166292 (D. Md. Sep. 27, 2018). [Plead unreasonableness] In a scheme involving fraudulently obtaining … Continue reading
N.D.Ohio: Parole officers’ clinical reports didn’t have any of the added color at the suppression hearing, so the court doesn’t credit their testimony
“Based upon the totality of the circumstances and the Court’s assessment of the credibility of the parole officers, the Court finds that the [parole authority] lacked reasonable suspicion to search Neff’s cell phone. The results of the search, therefore, must … Continue reading
E.D.Pa.: Pre-Carpenter CSLI survives with GFE; Riley didn’t foretell Carpenter
Defendant was a suspect in a series of bank robberies, and a court order was obtained for his CSLI in 2016. Defendant’s argument that Riley foretold Carpenter is rejected. It wasn’t enough to forecast a clear outcome. The good faith … Continue reading
N.D.Okla.: Arrest inside the door permitted protective sweep
The arrest of the codefendant inside house permitted a protective sweep. United States v. Jones, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166347 (N.D. Okla. Sep. 27, 2018). “These nine ineffective assistance of counsel claims are properly evaluated under the Strickland standard, meaning … Continue reading
TX2: A tin can in hand was “associated with the person” for search incident purposes
A tin can in defendant’s hand and dropped as she was handcuffed was “associated with the person” for search incident purposes. Texas recognizes larger items may not be “associated with the person” v. smaller items more easily held. State v. … Continue reading
IA: No IAC for not challenging evidence obtained in another state where state law was more defense favorable; can’t show outcome would be different
Defendant was arrested in Nebraska, and Iowa authorities sought his DNA there to connect him to an Iowa crime. Nebraska’s standard for obtaining DNA is less demanding. He can’t show on post-conviction that defense counsel was ineffective for not challenging … 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
AR: Argument that SW was required not subpoena for text messages that came day after admission into evidence was waived
The defense argument that text messages were obtained by subpoena not search warrant was not preserved for review when the defense waited until the next day to object. Even if it had been preserved, the argument wasn’t fully developed, and … Continue reading
N.D.Ind.: Franks requires attaching affidavit to the motion to suppress
Defendant’s Franks request for an evidentiary hearing without attaching the affidavit for the search warrant is denied without prejudice. The court has nothing to compare. United States v. Carswell, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165132 (N.D. Ind. Sep. 26, 2018). The … Continue reading
IA: Even removing the CI’s information from the affidavit, there was still PC for the search
“Even if we were to excise the complained of information–the information obtained from anonymous tipsters and the references in the warrant application concerning sightings of Gully at the residence in previous years–the issuing magistrate still had a substantial basis for … Continue reading
E.D.Mo.: Of course the SW was signed, so def counsel wasn’t ineffective for not raising it
“Eason’s counsel was not ineffective for failing to allege that the search warrant was not signed by the affiant because the Court’s records clearly demonstrate that it was. Had that not been the case, the Court who carefully examined the … Continue reading
The Atlantic: The Always-On Police Camera
The Atlantic: The Always-On Police Camera by Sidney Fussell: Body cameras that automatically activate in response to the sound of gunfire could forever change people’s expectations about public spaces.
Cal.1: Electronic probation search condition challenge forfeited
Defendant minor’s electronic probation search condition challenge was forfeited. In re L.O., 2018 Cal. App. LEXIS 863 (1st Dist. Sep. 26, 2018).* Defendant was on supervised release, and there was reasonable suspicion for his probation search: A CI said he … Continue reading