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Recent Posts
- DE: Cell phone SW was limited by time and data sought, so it was not a general warrant
- MD: Under Bruen, mere possession of a handgun outside the home is no longer RS; Terry stop doesn’t include looking in a bag
- MO: When officers came with an arrest warrant, def’s admission he had a firearm justified the entry
- PA: Shining flashlight into hole in a shoebox was a search; there was a REP in the closed box
- CA5: Accidentally shooting the man who disarmed the shooter from a residence was not a constitutional violation
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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
W.D.N.C.: Court order issued under the SCA was sufficient as a substitute for a warrant
A court order issued under the Stored Communications Act was sufficient as a substitute for a warrant. United States v. Whittaker, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169034 (W.D.N.C. Aug. 7, 2025). “Therefore, in addition to Agent Namey’s experience and explanation, the … Continue reading
Lexology: Constitutional Challenges to AI Monitoring Systems in Public Schools
Lexology: Constitutional Challenges to AI Monitoring Systems in Public Schools (“Two recent federal lawsuits filed against school districts in Lawrence, Kansas and Marana, Arizona highlight emerging legal challenges surrounding the use of AI surveillance tools in the educational setting. Both … Continue reading
ID: Extraterritorial arrest doesn’t violate state constitution
An extraterritorial arrest does not violate the search and seizure provision of the state constitution, like it doesn’t under the Fourth Amendment. The remedies for statutory violations aren’t in the exclusionary rule. State v. Satterfield, 2025 Ida. App. LEXIS 37 … Continue reading
D.Mass.: Foreign law enforcement agency could be credited as informant
A tip from a foreign law enforcement agency about a Massachusetts IP address trading in CSAM could be credited for probable cause. United States v. Shacar, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165584 (D. Mass. Aug. 26, 2025). Because the CI’s role … Continue reading
TX2: No REP in public area of business
The state violated no reasonable expectation of privacy by entering the public area of a business. Tucker v. State, 2025 Tex. App. LEXIS 6617 (Tex. App. – Ft. Worth Aug. 26, 2025). Exigency not required for automobile exception search on … Continue reading
Reason: Compensation for Legal Fees Is a Critical Protection Against Civil Forfeiture Abuses
Reason: Compensation for Legal Fees Is a Critical Protection Against Civil Forfeiture Abuses by Jacob Sullum (“A recent federal appeals court decision underlines the importance of that safeguard.”) [United States v. Moore, 23-10971 (11th Cir. Aug. 20, 2025)]: The government’s … Continue reading
ATL: a “search so obviously unconstitutional that a ‘high school student’ would know it’s illegal”
ATL: Federal Judge Slams The ‘Lawlessness’ Of Trump’s D.C. Takeover by Kathryn Rubino. These guys think they have Art. II license to violate the law?
IL: Reasonable to believe def had cell phone with him in car when shooting occurred
It was a reasonable conclusion that defendant’s cell phone would have information about this shooting incident. It was reasonable to believe that he had his phone when driving. The time period was also reasonably limited. People v. Terrell, 2025 IL … Continue reading
LAT: The Supreme Court could give immigration agents broad power to stop and question Latinos
LAT: The Supreme Court could give immigration agents broad power to stop and question Latinos by David G. Savage (“This year’s most far-reaching immigration case is likely to decide if immigration agents in Los Angeles are free to stop, question … Continue reading
CA6: Harris drug dog reliability case only applies to warrantless searches
The Harris drug dog reliability case applies only to warrantless searches. Here, Postal Inspectors used a drug dog on a suspicious package at the Cleveland sorting center, and then got warrant when the dog alerted. Harris is not an exception … Continue reading
WSJ: Florida Cops Turn Traffic Stops Into Deportations
WSJ: Florida Cops Turn Traffic Stops Into Deportations by Arian Campo-Flores, Scott Calvert & Elizabeth Lindell (“A ride-along shows how the state’s police force has become integrated into federal government’s enforcement efforts; ‘You’re here illegally.’”):
IN: Cell phone and social media SW in murder case had nexus
Defendant was involved in two connected murders, 13½ months apart, one likely retaliation for the other. The state showed probable cause for the warrant for his cell phone and social media accounts. While part was a close call, the requirement … Continue reading
N.D.Okla.: ALPR challenge requires standing; even so, it doesn’t violate Carpenter
Defendant’s Fourth Amendment claim about ALPR requires he show standing in the vehicle he was driving, and here he did not. Even if he had standing, Carpenter provides him no relief. “As an initial matter, the court notes that no reasonable … Continue reading
D.Neb.: Bag of handcuffed def still subject to search incident
Although defendant was handcuffed, they aren’t “fail safe” and a search incident of the bag he was holding was reasonable under the circumstances. (His general lack of cooperation was also a factor.) United States v. Collier, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS … Continue reading
CA6: No REP in LPN
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in license plate information. Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not raising that. Williams v. United States, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 21583 (6th Cir. Aug. 22, 2025). While a sexual assault examination of a … Continue reading
DE: No IAC claim where challenged evidence never used at trial
There is no ineffective assistance of counsel claim for not pursuing a Fourth Amendment claim where the product of the search was not used at trial. State v. Finney, 2025 Del. Super. LEXIS 404 (Aug. 18, 2025). Crime victims are … Continue reading
CA8: A summons to come to court is not a 4A seizure
A summons to come to court is not a Fourth Amendment seizure. Brown v. City of Dermott, Arkansas, 23-3073 (8th Cir. Aug. 19, 2025). The search of defendant’s vehicle was valid both under the automobile exception and inventory. United States … Continue reading
S.D.N.Y.: Failure to plead how 4A was violated denies return of laptop
The motion for return of the target’s laptop for violating the Fourth Amendment is denied because he doesn’t plead how the Fourth Amendment was violated. Commodities Future Trading Commission v. Alexandre, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160456 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 19, 2025). … Continue reading
Guam case shows: Don’t cross examine about the CI without a clear goal in mind
This started with a CI for a search warrant, but the hearing on the motion to suppress revealed there were actually three others. That information was outside the “four corners” but it cemented the probable cause. Guam v. Guerrero, 2025 … Continue reading
WA: SW for electronic devices in theft case was overbroad when sexual images were viewed
Defendant was a suspect in thefts. Police seized his briefcase and found electronic devices inside. The search warrant for the electronic devices produced a video of defendant having sex with his incapacitated girlfriend a decade earlier, which led to his … Continue reading