Archives
-
Recent Posts
- E.D.Pa.: Mandamus doesn’t lie to unseal SW papers
- D.Me.: Looking around house when allegedly “freezing” it was an illegal search
- OR: Police listening to attorney-client jail calls because attorney calls not properly segregated leads to dismissal of some counts and setting aside guilty plea
- techdirt: The Problems Of The NCMEC CyberTipline Apply To All Stakeholders
- W.D.Ark.: Parole search waiver moots lack of PC argument
-
-
ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2017); ABA Journal Blawg 100 (2015-16) (discontinued 2018)
-
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) -
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fourth Amendment cases,
citations, and links -
Latest Slip Opinions:
U.S. Supreme Court (Home)
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 -
"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)
Website design by Wally Waller, Little Rock 
Monthly Archives: January 2019
AR: Isolated comment at trial from police witness defendant wouldn’t give up cell phone password didn’t require reversal; jury admonished on right not to
An isolated trial comment from a witness that the officer couldn’t access a cell phone without the password wasn’t prejudicial. Also, the parties agreed that an admonition that defendant had a constitutional right to not give it was given. Lewis … Continue reading
CA5: 9 day delay in getting SW for cell phone wasn’t unreasonable
The search warrant reasonably authorized seizure of defendant’s cell phone but not its search. The nine day delay in getting the search warrant for the phone was not unreasonable. The court declines to adopt a bright line rule and goes … Continue reading
CA6: No showing insurance company’s investigative report was cause of his arrest; also didn’t plead state action
Plaintiff sued his insurance company for participating in his false arrest because they submitted their own investigative file to law enforcement. There is no evidence that law enforcement didn’t conduct its own independent analysis of what they received. In addition, … Continue reading
CA2: Def parole officer gets QI on whether 4A or NY case law applies to parole search
Plaintiff was subjected to a parole search, and he contended New York law applied rather than Samson et al. The officer gets qualified immunity on the question because it appears Samson should but we don’t even need to resolve it. … Continue reading
N.D.Ala.: No Franks proffer so motion fails
“In this case, the defendant has not attempted to make any preliminary showing that the information contained in the application/affidavit was knowingly or recklessly false. The closest he comes to doing so is the assertion that the application/affidavit avers that … Continue reading
N.D.Tex.: 2254 habeas 4A IAC claim denied; state court applied right rules and finding not objectively unreasonable
Defendant’s federal habeas is denied on his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel as to his search. “The state court applied the proper legal standard and, deferring to the state court’s factual findings, including the court’s credibility determinations, the court’s … Continue reading
PA: There’s no right to a warning before fleeing from the police during a stop
Defendant had no right to a warning before he fled from police when he was stopped. “Here, as a practical matter, it is not all clear that police had a reasonable opportunity to issue Dunham verbal commands directing his movement. … Continue reading
N.D.Ind.: Halfway litigating a motion to suppress in state court is collateral estoppel to later suit
Defendant first litigated his suppression issue in state court and lost. He didn’t appeal, and it became final. That’s collateral estoppel to a civil case over the same search. Freeman v. Indiana, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13863 (N.D. Ind. Jan. … Continue reading
D.Minn.: Govt showed nexus to def’s cell phones in vehicle involved in a shooting
Defendant’s vehicle was factually connected to a shooting incident, and that gave probable cause to search it under the automobile exception. There was nexus to defendant’s cell phones found in the vehicle to get a separate search warrant for them. … Continue reading
S.D.Ill.: Merely living in a house and being alleged to be a criminal doesn’t create nexus; more is required, and the govt had it here
It is settled in this circuit that merely because a person lives in a house doesn’t create a nexus to the house for crime; more is required. Here, the government gets over that hurdle. Defendant was overheard talking about having … Continue reading
D.Minn.: Def’s Franks challenge had no offer of proof and thus was a mere complaint without support
Defendant’s Franks challenge to the search warrant wasn’t specific and was actually a mere “complain[t]” without an offer of proof, and that’s just not enough. United States v. Yackel, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12819 (D. Minn. Jan. 28, 2019)*:
NYT: iPhone FaceTime Bug That Allows Spying Was Flagged to Apple Over a Week Ago
NYT: iPhone FaceTime Bug That Allows Spying Was Flagged to Apple Over a Week Ago by Nicole Perlroth: SAN FRANCISCO — On Jan. 19, Grant Thompson, a 14-year-old in Arizona, made an unexpected discovery: Using FaceTime, Apple’s video chatting software, … Continue reading
CA7: Exclusionary rule does not apply to revocation of federal supervised release
The exclusionary rule does not apply to revocation of federal supervised release, applying Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole v. Scott, 524 U.S. 357 (1998). United States v. Phillips, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 2799 (7th Cir. Jan. 28, 2019). CSLI … Continue reading
E.D.Ky.: Disagreement with some of the facts of the alleged PC doesn’t undermine it; it might be relevant at trial
Defendant’s disagreement with some of the facts that led to his arrest didn’t undermine the probable cause and search incident. They may be relevant at trial, but probable cause still exists. United States v. Hawkins, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12033 … Continue reading
OR: In a DUII stop, a request for consent to search is not reasonably related to the basis for the stop; it unreasonably extended it
In a DUII stop, a request for consent to search is not reasonably related to the basis for the stop and it unreasonably extended it. State v. Rondeau, 295 Or. App. 769, 2019 Ore. App. LEXIS 123 (Jan. 24, 2019). … Continue reading
CA2: Where PC was a close question, the court instead decides GFE applies
“The existence of probable cause in this case presents a close question. We need not decide the issue, however, because we conclude that, even assuming probable cause was lacking, the good faith exception applies.” The government was forthright in disclosing … Continue reading
W.D.Ky.: Cell phone pings before controlled buys provided nexus to search house
Defendant’s going directly home after several controlled buys as shown by cell phone pings was sufficient to show nexus to his home for a search warrant for drugs. “Probable cause exists in this case because of the continual and ongoing … Continue reading
IN: Exigency permitted real time pinging of def’s cell phone
(1) There were exigent circumstances for pinging defendant’s cell phone based on exigent circumstances as recognized by state statute, and this is implicitly recognized by Carpenter. (2) Failure to file the search warrant papers within 72 hours as required by … Continue reading
E.D.Mo.: Def has no standing to challenge SW for another person’s Facebook account
Defendant was charged with drug dealing and the overdose death of A.C. He has no standing to challenge the search warrant for A.C.’s Facebook account. United States v. Brewer, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 220055 (E.D. Mo. Dec. 18, 2018). Despite … Continue reading