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- E.D.Ky.: When court can’t tell the dog alerted, motion to suppress granted
- OH1: A malnourished child isn’t exigency for an infant
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- 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
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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)
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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)
Website design by Wally Waller, Little Rock 
Monthly Archives: August 2020
The Appeal: NYPD Expands Use Of Controversial Subpoenas To Criminal Cases
The Appeal: NYPD Expands Use Of Controversial Subpoenas To Criminal Cases by Ali Winston (“Administrative subpoenas—which do not require a judge’s approval—are typically used for the department’s internal investigations, but The Appeal has learned that they are being used in … Continue reading
techdirt.com: Secret Service Latest To Use Data Brokers To Dodge Warrant Requirements For Cell Site Location Data
techdirt.com: Secret Service Latest To Use Data Brokers To Dodge Warrant Requirements For Cell Site Location Data by Tim Cushing (“Another federal law enforcement agency has figured out a way to dodge warrant requirements for historical cell site location data. … Continue reading
NYTimes: How Reuters Analyzed Court Data on Qualified Immunity
NYTimes: How Reuters Analyzed Court Data on Qualified Immunity by Reuters:
N.D.Ill. rejects geofence warrant for cell phone and owner data as overbroad
A third geofence warrant to attempt to determine who was around stolen prescription medication. It too is denied as overbroad. In re Search of Info. Stored at Premises Controlled by Google, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152712 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 24, … Continue reading
E.D.Pa.: Guest who intended to spend the night had standing
Defendant had standing to contest a search of premises he was visiting and anticipated spending the night. He loses on the merits by his consent. United States v. Mack, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152664 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 24, 2020). Defendant’s … Continue reading
Law.com: The Execution of Cloud Search Warrants
Law.com: The Execution of Cloud Search Warrants by Peter A. Crusco (“In his Cyber Crime column, Peter A. Crusco discusses the issues raised by search warrants aimed at electronically stored information.”).
50 years today
5:30-5:45 pm, August 24, 1970, I registered for law school. The bar results were August 25, 1973, and, August 31st, my law license turns 47.
NE adopts an objective test on the totality of circumstances for abandonment from CA8 cases
Nebraska adopts an objective test on the totality of circumstances of abandonment from Eighth Circuit cases. State v. Dixon, 306 Neb. 853 (Aug. 21, 2020):
CA6: Pleading false information used to get SW overcame QI at this stage
Pleading that defendants used false information to get a search warrant for them. That was enough to get around qualified immunity, and the district court erred in dismissing at this stage. Marvaso v. Sanchez, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 26723 (6th … Continue reading
OK: False name given during execution of SW admissible to impeach credibility
“The State’s questions about Appellant having given a false name to authorities during the execution of a search warrant earlier in the summer of 2015 was relevant as a general matter to impeach Appellant’s credibility.” Knapper v. State, 2020 OK … Continue reading
D.N.M.: POs with PV warrant authorized to enter hotel room def was visiting under Payton
Parole officers had a warrant for defendant’s arrest for absconding from supervision. His location at the motel room of another was given to the PO and an apprehension team went to get him. As they approached, the door was opened … Continue reading
CA9: Co-conspirators’ statements to police linking def were reliable enough for PC
Other suspects’ admissions against penal interest that led to their charges and tying in defendant were credible enough for informant hearsay. United States v. Odell, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 26695 (9th Cir. Aug. 21, 2020). “We have previously found that … Continue reading
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
OH6: Smell of raw marijuana from house was PC
The officers’ smell of raw marijuana at a house was probable cause. This is different than the case of burnt marijuana not justifying a search of the trunk of a car. In an IAC claim, defendant didn’t plead any evidence … Continue reading
CA11: Mere trespasser in driveway had no REP there
Defendant was parked in the driveway of what was supposed to be at the time an unoccupied house, and a neighbor called the police. Defendant told them he was an invited visitor, but it was found he lacked a reasonable … Continue reading
CA8: While § 922(g)(3) requires an “unlawful user” of drugs in possession of firearms, the question is only PC for seizure; statute is not vague
The government doesn’t need proof beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was an “unlawful user” of controlled substance to seize firearms around drugs with probable cause. And that doesn’t make the § 922(g)(3) vague. United States v. Figueroa-Serrano, 2020 U.S. … Continue reading
NH: Protective sweep of motel room search justified by presence of others
A protective sweep of defendant’s motel room on his arrest was justified by the fact he was suspected of selling crack out of it and there were three woman also there, one of whom turned her back on the officers … Continue reading
OH2: Officer may ask motorist if he’s armed
A police officer may ask a stopped motorist in a traffic stop whether he is armed without violating the Fourth Amendment. State v. Ferguson, 2020-Ohio-4153, 2020 Ohio App. LEXIS 3051 (2d Dist. Aug. 21, 2020). Defendant’s traffic stop evolved into … Continue reading
The Intercept: Her Former Colleagues Called in a “Wellness Check.” Then Police Shot Her to Death.
The Intercept: Her Former Colleagues Called in a “Wellness Check.” Then Police Shot Her to Death. by Natasha Lennard (“The killing of Sandy Guardiola at the hands of a cop illustrates the limitations of brutal, armed police responding to community … Continue reading
OH2: The fact a SW had a laundry list of 182 things to search for and seize isn’t fatal where def doesn’t show what was overseized
The search warrant here was for illegal fireworks and listed 182 items to be seized, including fireworks. “Johnson also contends the warrant is invalid because it authorized the seizure of a boilerplate list of 182 items, all or most of … Continue reading