Archives
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Recent Posts
- CO: Facebook SW lacked PC
- D.Ariz.: Looking over ptf’s fence violated no REP
- D.D.C.: SW of house for clothing used in crime didn’t violate 4A
- 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
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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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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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"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
CA10: Pepper spraying a subdued misdemeanant was unreasonable; no QI
“Addressing the two prongs of qualified immunity below, we conclude that the use of pepper spray violated Mr. Wilkins’s clearly established right to be free from the additional use of force after he was effectively subdued. The officers were not … Continue reading
MO: Telling def to “stay right there” and “sit down” was a seizure
Telling defendant to “stay right there” and “sit down” was a seizure, and here it was with reasonable suspicion. State v. Higgs, 2022 Mo. App. LEXIS 274 (May 3, 2022).* Probable cause was shown: “A reasonable judge could, and did, … Continue reading
OH12: Any error in SW return has no effect on search
Any error in the search warrant return does not affect the search itself. Therefore, it can’t form a basis for suppression. Defendant also disclaimed any interest in the property at the time of the search. State v. McClendon, 2022-Ohio-1441, 2022 … Continue reading
D.Md.: Facebook subject to search because of interactions there with co-conspirator
Defendant’s Facebook page was subject to being searched because there were interactions on it with a coconspirator, and that showed probable cause. United States v. Daprato, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78626 (D.Md. May 2, 2022).* “Frey’s motion to suppress evidence … Continue reading
D.D.C.: J6 Committee’s subpoena to RNC not unreasonably overbroad
J6 Committee’s subpoena for records to the RNC does not violate the Fourth Amendment; it’s within Congress’s power. Republican National Committee v. Pelosi, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78501 (D.D.C. May 1, 2022):
TechStory: FBI searched data of millions of Americans without warrants
TechStory: FBI searched data of millions of Americans without warrants by Disha Mitra (“These specific ‘queries’ were reportedly made somewhere between December 2020 and November 2021 by the FBI personnel. Apparently, they were looking for indications of threats and terrorists … Continue reading
S.D.Cal.: 4A violations are for suppression, not dismissal
“Searches and seizures in violation of the Fourth Amendment do not require dismissing an indictment; instead, the remedy is suppressing the evidence at trial.” United States v. Ramirez-Aleman, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77436 (S.D.Cal. Apr. 26, 2022). Defendant officers have … Continue reading
OH2: Def had no standing to challenge pings of another’s phone
Defendant had no standing to challenge pings of another’s phone. State v. Farra, 2022-Ohio-1421, 2022 Ohio App. LEXIS 1321 (2d Dist. Apr. 29, 2022). Even a locked safe in a car is subject to the automobile exception. State v. Malone, … Continue reading
CA9: Private searcher mimicking her computer search for police was reasonable
Defendant’s former girlfriend found child pornography on his computer. She took the computer to the Reno sheriff’s office, and the police there had her show them what she did and go no farther. This was admitted by the government to … Continue reading
CA11: Def’s innocent explanation for his behavior still left PC
Defendant’s innocent explanation for his behavior still left probable cause. United States v. Clark, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 11504 (11th Cir. Apr. 28, 2022). Defendant was arrested two weeks after a string of robberies, and his cell phone was taken … Continue reading
D.Mont.: Burden on def to show extent of privacy interest in Instagram account
Defendant had the burden to show the extent of his privacy interest in his Instagram account. Were the parts to be evidence obtained from the private or public parts? He doesn’t show. The Terms of Service would limit it in … Continue reading
CA6: Auto exception applies even where driver is detained
A vehicle is mobile for the automobile exception even though the driver is detained. United States v. Washington, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 11511 (6th Cir. Apr. 28, 2022). A bald tire in the back of a rental truck was so … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: RS still existed on I-85 after apparent hand-to-hand transaction in front of stash house
Defendant’s doing a hand-to-hand transaction from a car in front of a stash house was still reasonable suspicion when the officers caught up with him on I-85 after a license plate reader found the car after they lost sight of … Continue reading
NY Kings Co.: “There is no Fourth Amendment principle that forbids a police officer from being pleased at having found an illegal weapon”
“Set against the obvious reality that a well-documented full and proper inventory was carried out here, I do not find the mere fact that after spotting the gun at the outset, Officer Duran exclaimed, ‘that was easy,’ and ‘Now it’s … Continue reading
D.Mont.: Acting strange walking down the street is not RS
“While Vasquez was indeed acting strangely, for the stop to be valid, his conduct must be indicative of criminal behavior. The Court here simply cannot bridge the connection between the conduct here that is suspicious or odd in the lay … Continue reading
TX4: No REP in totaled car at the wrecker yard
Defendant totaled his car in an accident. The black box evidence was sought by warrant, but the court holds that defendant effectively abandoned the car to the wrecking yard. Vitela v. State, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2759 (Tex. App. – … Continue reading
Bloomberg: Facebook Data Release to Cops Evades 4A Limits Deep Dive
Bloomberg: Facebook Data Release to Cops Evades Fourth Amendment Limits Deep Dive by Jake Holland (“A Ninth Circuit ruling that allows tech companies to turn over an individual’s online account data to law enforcement for preservation without violating the Fourth … Continue reading
CA11: Pressing key fob found during search of home to find car didn’t violate 4A
Pressing the key fob found inside during a search to locate the car outside was reasonable under the automobile exception. United States v. Fortson, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 11176 (11th Cir. Apr. 25, 2022). “Defendant’s constitutional rights were not violated … Continue reading
Bloomberg Law: Justices Reject Case Over Real-Time Phone Location Tracking
Bloomberg Law: Justices Reject Case Over Real-Time Phone Location Tracking (“The U.S. Supreme Court declined to weigh whether the Fourth Amendment’s privacy protections are implicated when law enforcement uses cell carrier signals to reveal a person’s whereabouts in real time.”)