Archives
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Recent Posts
- D.R.I.: Defense attorney’s affidavit for Franks motion was insufficient for lack of personal knowledge
- W.D.Mo.: ALPR information helped support RS
- D.S.D.: If def testifies to show standing, he can be asked about his association with the drugs found
- IL: A backpack is not as personal a repository of stuff as a purse or wallet; officers ordered it left in vehicle for safety reasons and it was inventoried
- DE: Cell phone SW was limited by time and data sought, so it was not a general warrant
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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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General (many free):
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Stringrays (ACLU No. Cal.) (pdf)
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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. 
Author Archives: Hall
D.Conn.: Failure to disclose prior likely unconstitutional entry into def’s property in SW affidavit was material
The search warrant here was based on an unconstitutional prior entry to photograph firearms, and the issuing magistrate wasn’t told about that. That was material. Motion to suppress granted. United States v. Mahama, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145463 (D. Conn. … Continue reading
CA4: GPS monitoring for first six months of supervised release was not abuse of discretion [subtext: seems reasonable]
Six months of GPS monitoring of defendant on supervised release was tailored to him and not an abuse of discretion. It was a burden, but those on supervised release have far diminished expectations of privacy. United States v. Ellis, 2024 … Continue reading
CA9: Dog handler allegedly allowing police dog to excessively bite ptf denied QI
“Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Rock, Miller allowed the canine to continue biting Rock even though he was unarmed, did not present an immediate threat to the officers or others, and did not resist or actively … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: Merely repeating the 4A argument to the USMJ isn’t a sufficient objection to the R&R
“Defendant does not explain how the Magistrate Judge erred in her consideration of this [Fourth Amendment] argument or explanation of the binding precedent that compelled her conclusion; he merely reiterates his prior argument on this issue. This is not a … Continue reading
CA10: Merely citing the 4A without explanation didn’t preserve the argument made on appeal
Plaintiff’s sole search claim that officers “in so doing unjustifiably trespassed on his Fourth Amendment right to privacy” did not put the district court on notice of his specific claim now asserted on appeal. United States v. Murillo-Gonzalez, 2024 U.S. … Continue reading
N.D.Cal.: iCloud SW was particular as to subject and time
This iCloud warrant was based on probable cause and was particular and had a specific time limit. “Certain of the categories of evidence authorized for seizure by the February iCloud Warrant may appear overbroad in isolation but are sufficiently particular … Continue reading
CA4: Def left car door open in traffic stop and that enabled plain view
Defendant’s stop was valid, and he got out of the car leaving the door open. The officer could see the firearm in the car, and that’s plain view. United States v. Bailey, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 20336 (4th Cir. Aug. … Continue reading
CA8: Changing the inventory search argument on appeal was waiver
Defendant’s chain of custody argument after an inventory search was differently articulated than in the district court so it’s not preserved. United States v. Edwards, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 19568 (8th Cir. Aug. 6, 2024).* Defendant’s nolo plea waived his … Continue reading
CA7: No court has suppressed a Playpen SW, and changing the argument up a bit doesn’t succeed either
Every court to have dealt with the good faith exception in Playpen warrants has sustained them. This case attempts a different casting of the argument, but it’s rejected too. United States v. Dorosheff, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 19590 (7th Cir. … Continue reading
PA: No REP against use of a light transmittance meter for window tint
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy that an officer’s can’t use a light transmittance meter on window tint that is plainly visible. “Nonetheless, application of the window tint meter here was not unreasonable in light of the authority granted … Continue reading
Reason: The ACLU’s Response to My Post on the Fifth Circuit’s Smith Ruling—And My Reply to the ACLU
Reason: The ACLU’s Response to My Post on the Fifth Circuit’s Smith Ruling—And My Reply to the ACLU by Orin S. Kerr (“A debate on a very important Fourth Amendment ruling.”):
CA9: Failure to raise a clearly winning 4A curtilage argument was IAC
Defense counsel was ineffective for not raising a winning Fourth Amendment curtilage argument. As to the co-defendant, however, he lacks standing, so no IAC as to him. United States v. Chong, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 20467 (9th Cir. Aug. 14, … Continue reading
S.D.N.Y.: Slapping ptf during her arrest to control her not shown to be unreasonable
Plaintiff does not plausibly allege that slapping during arrest to control her was objectively unreasonable. Harding v. Gould, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141944 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 9, 2024).* The officer here shot and killed a 13-year-old holding and raising a toy … Continue reading
CADC: Ptf’s arrest on mistaken identity was still reasonable
The District Court correctly granted qualified immunity to an officer who detained plaintiff due to a mistaken identity fugitive warrant because there was no showing that any reasonable official in the defendant’s shoes would have understood that he was violating … Continue reading
CADC: Unreasonable retention of property after a case is resolved can violate 4A
Looking to the common law, unreasonable retention of property after a case is resolved can violate the Fourth Amendment. Asinor v. District of Columbia, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 20098 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 9, 2024):
CA6: No special REP in crypto in FinCEN 8300 reporting
There is no special reasonable expectation of privacy under the Fourth Amendment to bar the IRS/FinCEN Form 8300 reporting requirement. Carman v. Yellen, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 20033 (6th Cir. Aug. 9, 2024). Four of petitioner’s 2255 claims involved a … Continue reading
KS: Ptf’s criminal case reversed and dismissed for a 4A violation was not factually innocent for wrongful conviction compensation
Plaintiff had his conviction reversed for an illegal search. On remand, the prosecutor dismissed. He sought compensation for his unlawful conviction. He gets no relief. State law only provides for compensation for the factually innocent, and that’s not this. In … Continue reading
CA9: Where officers were attempting to de-escalate a situation, warning about deadly force not required
A warning before deadly force would be used was contrary to the officers’ efforts to de-escalate the situation. Otherwise qualified immunity applies. Eyre v. City of Fairbanks, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 19770 (9th Cir. Aug. 7, 2024) (2-1).* Plaintiff’s claim … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: Without showing no PC on remainder of affidavit, Franks challenge fails
Defendant’s Franks challenge fails because he doesn’t show that the affidavit does not show probable cause on the remainder. United States v. Chappell, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 140479 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 7, 2024).* The officers apparently didn’t know that the … Continue reading