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- OH1: SW for residence justified seizure of text messages about drug transactions received during execution of warrant
- Cal.2: CA OSHA had the authority to subpoena records over a workplace death, but this one was overbroad
- CA6: ChatGPT’s opinion that evidence was “newly discovered” for a successor habeas is wrong
- N.D.Cal.: Tribe’s suit over overbroad SW can proceed
- DE: Warrantless entry in DUI case unreasonable
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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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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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"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
Wired: The ‘Surveillance Solutionism’ of Putting Cameras in NYC Subways
The ‘Surveillance Solutionism’ of Putting Cameras in NYC Subways (“When ‘if you see something, say something’ becomes ‘we see everything,’ everyone loses.”) WMATA in DC has cameras everywhere. Presumably all the others do. All major subway systems in the world … Continue reading
D.V.I.: Govt couldn’t prove helicopter flyover was 1000′ or more; suppressed
The government flew a helicopter over defendant’s property to photograph a suspected marijuana grow. It could not provide testimony that the helicopter was flown at 1000′ or above in navigable air space. Defendant had a subjected expectation of privacy against … Continue reading
GA: Officers with an arrest warrant can enter the backyard, too
Officers with an arrest warrant for defendant at his place were permitted to enter the backyard too, where evidence was seen and seized. Jones v. State, 2022 Ga. LEXIS 256 (Sep. 20, 2022). Not mentioning in the affidavit for search … Continue reading
S.D.N.Y.: Two years to search a password protected computer, and more after mistrial, was not unreasonable
The government got a search warrant for defendant’s computer in days, but it took two years to complete the forensic review because of password protection. The two-year delay was thus not unreasonable. After a mistrial, the government kept searching, and … Continue reading
MA: Def not prejudiced by third party’s response to SW
A third party in possession of Medicaid records was served with a search warrant, and appellant complains of the procedural nature of the third party’s response. [Aside from no standing,] Appellant doesn’t even attempt to show that the exclusionary rule … Continue reading
E.D.Pa.: On scene seizure for a show-up was reasonable
Defendant’s seizure hiding behind a motorcycle for a victim’s ID to determine whether he was involved in a car jacking was reasonable. United States v. Dangerfield-Hill, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 168306 (E.D. Pa. Sep. 19, 2022). District court’s injunction against … Continue reading
IL: Smell of burnt MJ in a car in a recreational use state not PC
“We hold that the smell of the burnt cannabis, without any corroborating factors, is not enough to establish probable cause to search the vehicle, and the court did not err in granting the motion to suppress. This finding comports with … Continue reading
E.D.Pa.: Searching administratively impounded taxi states 4A claim
Plaintiff states a claim against the Philadelphia Parking Authority for detaining his temporarily impounded taxi for a later search without justification. Mbagwu v. PPA Taxi & Limousine Div., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167790 (E.D. Pa. Sep. 16, 2022). A cross-sex … Continue reading
The Crime Report: San Francisco PD Wants Access to Private Surveillance Cameras
The Crime Report: San Francisco PD Wants Access to Private Surveillance Cameras (“The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering a consequential vote on a proposal from the San Francisco police department that seeks a boost in law enforcement access … Continue reading
MI: Even if using a drone to take pictures in zoning dispute violated 4A, exclusionary rule does not apply, and the action below was remedial not punitive
The use of a drone to take pictures by a city contractor in case over a zoning ordinance violation probably did not violate any Fourth Amendment right. But even if it did, the exclusionary rule should not apply in this … Continue reading
techdirt: Device Searches Have Created A Massive Database Of American Phone Data CBP Agents Can Search At Will
techdirt: Device Searches Have Created A Massive Database Of American Phone Data CBP Agents Can Search At Will by Tim Cushing:
MA: GPS monitoring for probation for a sex offense didn’t serve the stated purpose and was unreasonable
Defendant was on probation for a sex offense, and the trial court ordered he wear a GPS monitor for three years as a method of enforcing an “exclusion zone” for the victim’s sake. However, the victim’s location was unknown, so … Continue reading
D.Ariz.: Following for 30 miles not a seizure
Following defendant for 30 miles is not a seizure. Finally, there was a consensual encounter. The R&R found it not; the USDJ disagrees. United States v. Ramos, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166913 (D. Ariz. Sep. 14, 2022).* 2½ months isn’t … Continue reading
TN: No IAC: strategic choice to distance def from premises
Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not challenging the search of the premises. The defense at trial was that defendant was merely a guest who didn’t have control of the stuff found there. To link defendant more to the premises was … Continue reading
Cal.4th: SW papers for cell site simulators remain under seal because CIs are identified in there
EFF sued for access to search warrant materials that led to use of cell site simulators. The court finds that the protection of named CIs in the papers still needs to be protected, and they remain under seal. Electronic Frontier … Continue reading
ID & CA3: Two views same day on misdemeanor arrests
Defendant was already stopped and the officer suspected DUI. She was handcuffed and transported for a breath test. This was an arrest for a misdemeanor that did not happen in the officer’s presence, and it thus violated the state constitution. … Continue reading
E.D.N.Y.: Rental car GPS data not comparable to CSLI; it’s just third-party information
Rental car location tracking is significantly different from CSLI. It is purely third-party information. Moreover, the rental car company consented to the taking of the information. United States v. Brown, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166119 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 14, 2022). The … Continue reading
MD: Appointment of state trial judges not 4A violation; they have statewide jurisdiction for SWs
Maryland trial judges have statewide jurisdiction for search warrants. Thus, the assignment of judges in Baltimore by the Chief Judge of the state high court violated nothing under the Fourth Amendment. (Without citing Virginia v. Moore. And, even if it … Continue reading
WaPo: Customs officials have copied Americans’ phone data at massive scale
WaPo: Customs officials have copied Americans’ phone data at massive scale by Drew Harwell (“Contacts, call logs, messages and photos from up to 10,000 travelers’ phones are saved to a government database every year.”)https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/09/15/government-surveillance-database-dhs/ And weren’t we told when this … Continue reading
CA11: Cell phone search mistakenly without a warrant still saved by GFE
Defendant was convicted of Hobbs Act robbery, and his cell phone was used against him after it was left in the borrowed getaway car. The cell phone was searched mistakenly without a warrant. When the officer discovered he forgot a … Continue reading