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Recent Posts
- N.D.Tex.: AUSA can summarize what the gov’t knows for SW application
- S.D.N.Y.: No right to quash SCA warrant before execution; remedies are after
- S.D.N.Y.: SW not based on mere speculation
- D.Mont.: Officers had RS for stop; it wasn’t based on the race of the suspects
- M.D.Pa.: SW for phone 19 months after alleged crimes showed PC
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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 -
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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
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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)
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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. 
Monthly Archives: February 2020
E.D.Mich.: Despite MMJ law, def rolling a joint when stopped could have his car searched
When defendant was stopped, he was seen rolling a joint. Despite the medical marijuana law, the officer could search the car for more because it was still a violation of federal law. United States v. Hinds, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS … Continue reading
CA9: Officers didn’t use excessive force in wrestling with and handcuffing strong woman having psychotic eposide
Plaintiff’s decedent was a large and strong woman who had an apparent psychotic break and six officers were trying to control her. She stopped breathing and died. Nothing contradicts the officer’s accounts of what happened. The police were called in … Continue reading
CA9: Juvenile detainee’s sexual harassment by guard stated a 14A claim; 4A not raised, and it likely could have been
Sexual harassment of a juvenile detainee stated a violation of the inmate’s right to privacy and bodily integrity under the Fourteenth Amendment. (A Fourth Amendment claim was not raised which the court notes could have been. n.6, below.) Vazquez v. … Continue reading
WGN: Florida troopers find narcotics in bag labeled ‘Bag Full of Drugs’
WGN: Florida troopers find narcotics in bag labeled ‘Bag Full of Drugs’ (“The Florida Highway Patrol arrested two men suspected of drug trafficking after troopers pulled them over and found drugs in a bag labeled ‘Bag Full of Drugs.’ The … Continue reading
techdirt: Court Order Shows DEA Demanding Tons Of Data From WhatsApp And Bunch Of Other Service Providers
techdirt: Court Order Shows DEA Demanding Tons Of Data From WhatsApp And Bunch Of Other Service Providers by Tim Cushing:
Chicago Sun Times: CPD using controversial facial recognition program that scans billions of photos from Facebook, other sites
Chicago Sun Times: CPD using controversial facial recognition program that scans billions of photos from Facebook, other sites by Tom Schuba (“Critics say Clearview AI’s software is an invasive overreach because it grabs the photos without the consent of those … Continue reading
Axios: Ancestry.com refused court request to give police DNA database access
Axios: Ancestry.com refused court request to give police DNA database access by Rebecca Falconer (“Ancestry.com refused to comply with a search warrant pushed by a Pennsylvania court for police to gain access to its database of about 16 million DNA … Continue reading
Law.com: Analysis: Reopening Suppression Hearings: The Trilogy Is Complete
Law.com: Analysis: Reopening Suppression Hearings: The Trilogy Is Complete (“In his Criminal Law and Procedure column, Barry Kamins discusses a recent decision, ‘People v. Cook’, which is the last of a trilogy of decisions that began over 40 years ago, … Continue reading
PA: A command to roll down the window with an officer on each side of the car is an investigative detention
Defendant’s stop and one officer on each side and a command to roll down the window tells him that he’s required to talk to the officer. That’s an investigative detention. Commonwealth v. Powell, 2020 Pa. Super. LEXIS 67 (Feb. 3, … Continue reading
CA9: Ptf’s shooting for a slow speed chase where all traffic laws were obeyed stated § 1983 claim and no QI
Plaintiff was attempted to be stopped by Tacoma police for driving without headlights on. Plaintiff didn’t have his DL on him, and he’d recently smoked crack. Therefore, he drove home at normal speeds and obeyed all stop signs and traffic … Continue reading
OH12: Officer’s objectively reasonable mistake as to traffic violation will support stop
The dashcam didn’t catch defendant’s lane violation because the officer saw it through the driver’s window. The trial court credited that a traffic violation supported the stop. Even an objectively reasonable mistake as to the traffic offense supports the stop, … Continue reading
CA4: Unnecessarily shooting ptf’s dog was a 4A seizure
Officer came to scene at plaintiff’s house and parked his car within the running area of a dog on a lease between two trees. The plaintiff came out to get the dog. It barked at the officer. When the dog … Continue reading
WaPo: A mother briefly lost her newborn after failing a drug test. Her doctor suspects poppy seeds.
WaPo: A mother briefly lost her newborn after failing a drug test. Her doctor suspects poppy seeds. By Michael Brice-Saddler (“Rebecca Hernandez was forced to spend three days apart from her newborn boy as she awaited a confirmatory test, which … Continue reading
Maneater: MU assessing new attendance-tracking app this semester
Maneater: MU assessing new attendance-tracking app this semester by Joy Mazur (“Students have raised privacy concerns over more advanced tracking methods.”): MU is now testing SpotterEDU, an app used to track attendance in classrooms. The pilot test taking place during … Continue reading
MinnPost: Minnesota Legislature begins considering facial-recognition technology regulations
MinnPost: Minnesota Legislature begins considering facial-recognition technology regulations by Peter Callaghan (“A joint legislative committee has taken the first small steps toward considering what a handful of cities and states around the country have already done — regulating or banning … Continue reading
IA: Navigable waters belong to the state, no matter who owns the bottom land; stop was based on RS
Defendant claims his stop for boating under the influence wasn’t valid under the Fourth Amendment and Iowa Constitution because the body of water sat over private lands. Navigable waters belong to the state, and the officer had reasonable suspicion to … Continue reading
D.P.R.: Def’s 2255 claim was based on a fact litigated below and at the trial on the merits; the jury’s determination on credibility can’t be challenged now
In his 2255, defendant claims counsel was ineffective for not moving to suppress on the automobile search or consent search grounds. This was contrary to his defense at trial and the original suppression motion that the officers planted the gun, … Continue reading
DE: SW for CSLI in murder case was overbroad as to seizures more than 24 hours after the murder; limited to that time period
The search warrant for defendant’s CSLI was for 4 days before a murder and 2 weeks after. He pleads overbreadth. The warrant is particular as to the subject matter, just the time is excessive. Thus, it does not permit a … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: Sole 4A question in § 2254 is fair opportunity to litigate, not correctness of result
Even an erroneous Fourth Amendment decision in state court does not overcome the Stone v. Powell bar in a § 2254. The question is the fair opportunity to litigate, not the result. Green v. Nagy, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16502 … Continue reading
E.D.Pa.: Hiding gun in wheel well of vehicle of another was abandonment; nothing after that has any legal effect
Hiding a gun in the wheel well of someone else’s vehicle to keep it from the police is an abandonment. “Defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the wheel well of someone else’s red Ford parked on a public … Continue reading