Claimant business’s motion for return of $895k from its bank account under Rule 41(g) is denied for lack of irreparable harm, based also on the government’s representation it’s going to attempt forfeiture. “Turning to the fourth factor, the Court finds it regrettable that forfeiture proceedings have not yet been instituted by the Government.” In re Merchs. & Marine Bank Accounts X9958 & X1525, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129949 (S.D. Miss. Aug. 4, 2019).*
The court declines to extend Bivens to a class action brought by a member of the Mexican mafia. Cantú v. Moody, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23362 (5th Cir. Aug. 5, 2019).*
A drug dog alert on money without the presence of drugs cannot support a forfeiture. Martinez-Camacho v. State, 2019 Ala. Civ. App. LEXIS 102 (Aug. 2, 2019): Continue reading →
Posted inDog sniff, Forfeiture|Comments Off on AL: Drug dog alert on cash without presence of drugs won’t support forfeiture
An attempt at a post-trial suppression motion in a motion for new trial was denied where the defense couldn’t show any merit to the motion in the first place. United States v. Baylor, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129708 (D.D.C. Aug. 2, 2019).*
Defendant’s stop lacked reasonable suspicion, and it’s suppressed. United States v. Holston, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130586 (E.D. Tenn. Aug. 5, 2019).*
Defendant’s government actor v. private search argument wasn’t sufficiently developed below. State v. Barnes, 2019 Haw. App. LEXIS 413 (Aug. 2, 2019).*
Posted inBurden of proof, Private search|Comments Off on D.D.C.: Post-trial suppression motion denied for lack of showing of merit
Analyzing bailments under PR law and First Circuit and SCOTUS cases (particularly Rawlings), defendant’s precipitous five second holding of a bag handed off to him wasn’t sufficient to create a bailment or give him standing in the bag. United States v. Sierra-Ayala, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129887 (D.P.R. Aug. 2, 2019).
An alcove where trash bins were 30 yards from defendant’s house wasn’t part of the curtilage. Neighbors apparently used it too, so there is no reasonable expectation of privacy there. United States v. Suris, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129782 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 3, 2019).*
Posted inCurtilage, Standing|Comments Off on D.P.R.: Being handed a bag for five seconds wasn’t enough to create standing
Defendant was a regular at the Americas bridge port of entry at El Paso being a community college student and an El Paso Walmart employee. One time, he rejected sending his car through the x-ray machine, and his cell phone was inspected, allegedly as a part of the border search or consent. It was found to be by consent. He was held for a while in detention, and that was reasonable. United States v. Ramirez, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128853 (W.D. Tex. Aug. 1, 2019)*: Continue reading →
Defendant challenges the use of the word “clear” to describe the facts, which is supported by the facts. “[E]ven if the Court finds that the challenged statement was false and orders it stricken from the affidavit, the Court finds that other information in the supporting affidavit provided sufficient probable cause to justify the issuance of the search warrant.” United States v. Clark, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128937 (M.D. La. Aug. 2, 2019).
Officers get qualified immunity for an entry based on exigency of alleged child abuse and a warrant for one of the occupants. When they arrived, despite the exigency, they didn’t enter right away until after the occupants refused to show the kids. Fineout v. Kostanko, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23167 (6th Cir. Aug. 2, 2019).
Posted inEmergency / exigency, Franks doctrine|Comments Off on M.D.La.: Use of word “clear” to describe certain facts wasn’t a Franks violation; removing it still leaves PC anyway
Defendant challenged his home visitation condition under the Fourth Amendment on appeal without having objected below. It is reviewed for plain error, and it’s certainly not. United States v. Dominguez-Villalobos, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23184 (5th Cir. Aug. 2, 2019).*
Petitioner is an incarcerated SVP under California law, waiting 13 years in litigation. The district court applied Younger abstention. The court of appeals, however, finds he fits within the “irreparable harm” exception that his probable cause claim hasn’t been fully adjudicated. Remanded. Page v. King, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23194 (9th Cir. Aug. 2, 2019).*
Posted inAbstention, Probation / Parole search|Comments Off on CA5: Home visitation and search condition not unreasonable (plain error review)
Defendant’s claim of standing in the home of another depends upon a Spanish language document [in PR federal court where everyone is bilingual] that was untranslated for the judge [and apparently not for appeal]. Therefore, his standing argument fails. But everything was harmless anyway based on overwhelming evidence of guilt. United States v. Rivera-Carrasquillo, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23217 (1st Cir. Aug. 2, 2019).
The officer developed reasonable suspicion during the stop because of defendant’s nervousness, travel along a known drug corridor, plans for a trip that exceeded the rental period of the car, not specifically knowing where he was going, and too much luggage for such a short trip. United States v. Segovia, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129376 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 2, 2019).*
Defendant’s camper was on the curtilage right next to the house and connected by “living debris” [junk?], and “not noticeably separate from the garage, it was covered by the search warrant, whether or not it was a vehicle for Fourth Amendment purposes.” United States v. Mazzulla, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23222 (8th Cir. Aug. 2, 2019).
Officers had a parole warrant for defendant, but he barricaded himself in his motel room with the bed against the door. Instead, they were able to get in through the window to arrest him, but there were no exigent circumstances justifying entry like that. His resisting arrest conviction is reversed. Nieves v. State, 2019 Fla. App. LEXIS 12095 (Fla. 2d DCA Aug. 2, 2019).*
The court finds addition of information into the affidavit for the search warrant was reckless at best and then material to the finding of probable cause. Without it, the affidavit was too thin, and that’s likely the reason the offending information was added. Defendant met his Franks burden, and the motion to suppress is granted. United States v. Starks, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129187 (N.D. Okla. Aug. 2, 2019).
An apparent hand-to-hand drug deal justified a stop. United States v. Scott, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129513 (E.D. Ky. Aug. 2, 2019).*
Posted inFranks doctrine, Reasonable suspicion|Comments Off on N.D.Okla.: Court finds Franks burden satisfied that false statement was material to bolster PC
On the Sixth Circuit’s remand of Byrd v. United States, 138 S.Ct. 1518 (2018), to the District Court, the court finds the good faith exception applies to standing issues arising before it was decided. United States v. Byrd, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129379 (M.D. Pa. Aug. 2, 2019): Continue reading →
Posted inGood faith exception, Standing|Comments Off on M.D.Pa.: On remand of Byrd, GFE applied to standing issue
“The non-exigent visual inspection of the genital area of a person suspected of concealing controlled dangerous substances, in daylight, while the person stood between two police cruisers with emergency lights flashing, along the shoulder of an interstate highway, as moderate to heavy traffic passed and the searchee’s companion and young child watched, violated the searchee’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches.” (Summary by the court) Faith v. State, 2019 Md. App. LEXIS 641 (Aug. 2, 2019).
Plaintiffs sued Chicago police officers for a stop that the officers don’t remember. That’s not a concession of liability. Torry v. City of Chicago, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23231 (7th Cir. Aug. 2, 2019).*
Posted in§ 1983 / Bivens, Strip search|Comments Off on MD: Daylight strip search on the side of highway was unreasonable
Tennessee has a “must cite” statute, that misdemeanor arrestees are presumptive cited and released. That, however, doesn’t govern the Fourth Amendment under Virginia v. Moore. United States v. Chol, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129565 (M.D. Tenn. Aug. 2, 2019).
The stop was with reasonable suspicion because officers reasonably believed he was wanted on an arrest warrant. The officers were not obligated to pursue consent first. “Prior to the determination that [the wanted man] was not in the vehicle, the officers were presented with evidence that the individuals in the vehicle were involved in criminal activity”: the smell of marijuana. United States v. Tillman, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129920 (W.D. Mo. Aug. 4, 2019),*
Defendant’s traffic stop was justified, and then the officer smelled marijuana, and that justified continuing the stop. United States v. Moody, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127999 (E.D. Va. July 31, 2019).*
Posted inReasonable suspicion, Reasonableness|Comments Off on M.D.Tenn.: Tennessee’s “must cite” statute for misdemeanants doesn’t govern under 4A
Police used records of a journalist’s private communications with a confidential source, obtained by a now-quashed search warrant, to secure permission to raid the reporter’s home and office, two judges revealed in court Friday.
Posted inPrivileges|Comments Off on Courthouse News Service: Journalist’s Phone Data Was Used to Justify Home, Office Raids
Ordering plaintiff off a parking lot because of suspected trespassing wasn’t a Fourth Amendment seizure. Watkins v. Joy, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 22910 (11th Cir. Aug. 1, 2019).
X-ray for contraband on an inmate is not a Fourth Amendment claim. Shepherd v. Nueschmid, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129022 (E.D. Cal. July 31, 2019).
Posted inSearch, Seizure|Comments Off on CA11: Telling ptf to move his car wasn’t a 4A seizure
The first DNA sample taken from defendant violated the Fourth Amendment. The state, however, got a do over and it used untainted information to get a second which was valid based on independent source. State v. Camey, 2019 N.J. LEXIS 1038 (Aug. 1, 2019).
The officer’s stop of defendant wasn’t a mere hunch because there was at least some factual basis. United States v. Miralda, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128131 (S.D. Iowa July 10, 2019).*
Posted inDNA, Independent source|Comments Off on NJ: While first DNA sample violated 4A, second was based on independent source and was valid
Tasing plaintiff twice was reasonable force because of his agitated state with a gun on his person. Hogan v. Beaumont, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 22861 (4th Cir. July 31, 2019): Continue reading →
Posted inExcessive force|Comments Off on CA4: Tasing ptf twice was reasonable force because of his agitated state with a gun on his person
The government satisfied its burden in showing that the inventory of defendant’s car was reasonable and not for an investigative purpose. Important to that, they attempted to work with defendant to avoid towing the vehicle at all by getting a family member to retrieve it. United States v. Edwards, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128206 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 1, 2019).*
The CI’s information was sufficiently corroborated to substantially reduce the risk that the CI was lying. There was also nexus between the probable cause and the vehicle to be searched. United States v. Velarde-Pavia, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128443 (D. N.M. July 31, 2019).*
The GPS search warrant for defendant was based on probable cause. What he claims was missing doesn’t alter the analysis because the probable cause is satisfied [and relatively low]. Sweeney v. State, 2019 Md. App. LEXIS 631 (Aug. 1, 2019).*
A single click on a URL on a website devoted to child pornography is probable cause for a search warrant for defendant’s computer. United States v. Bosyk, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 22973 (4th Cir. Aug. 1, 2019): Continue reading →
"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, 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.
