Archives
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Recent Posts
- 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
- 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
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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
AR: Questions about legality of search before jury properly excluded under 403
Where the trial court denied the pretrial motion to suppress, cross-examination of the officer about the legality of the search was properly denied on objection by the state as potentially misleading to the jury. Damon v. State, 2025 Ark. App. … Continue reading
E.D.Mo.: Putting def’s cell phone into airplane mode wasn’t a search
Putting defendant’s cell phone into airplane mode wasn’t a search. The name “Red” was seen on the screen. There was independent probable cause for the cell phone warrant. United States v. Hudson, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14952 (E.D. Mo. Jan. … Continue reading
OH5: When the trial court sustains a search on two grounds and only one is appealed, the decision will be affirmed
When the trial court sustains a search on two grounds and only one is appealed, the decision will be affirmed. State v. Alexander, 2025-Ohio-236 (4th Dist. Jan. 23, 2025). In an animal seizure case, state law requires a post-seizure administrative … Continue reading
WA: Long on vehicle protective sweeps not overruled by Gant
Michigan v. Long on protective sweeps of vehicles when a weapon is reasonably feared was not overruled by Gant. State v. Howard, 2025 Wash. App. LEXIS 151 (Jan. 28, 2025). The protective sweep would have been invalid but for valid … Continue reading
TN: Domestic and road rage call is a “serious crime” when evaluating officer’s use of force
When evaluating an officer’s use of force in responding to a domestic and road rage call involving a weapon, it is considered a serious crime. The use of force here was reasonable. Holland v. Cheatham Cty., 2025 Tenn. App. LEXIS … Continue reading
ABA: Considering Face Value: The Complex Legal Implications of Facial Recognition Technology
Michael Christopher Naught, Considering Face Value: The Complex Legal Implications of Facial Recognition Technology (ABA Criminal Justice Jan. 20, 2025): The increasing adoption of FRT and AI necessitates careful examination of their legal and ethical ramifications. These cutting-edge technologies raise … Continue reading
CA8: Drugs on person admissible under 404(b) despite being outside indictment
Drugs on defendant’s person at the time of arrest were admissible under 404(b) despite being outside the time of the indictment. United States v. Hodo, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 1796 (8th Cir. Jan. 28, 2025). Defendant was on supervised release … Continue reading
Courthouse News: En banc Fourth Circuit panel uses bank robbery to debate geofence warrants
Courthouse News: En banc Fourth Circuit panel uses bank robbery to debate geofence warrants by Joe Dodson (“The full panel of judges discussed the constitutionality of law enforcement using millions of people’s data to solve crimes. [¶] An en banc … Continue reading
GA: SW for blood BAC doesn’t also allow search for drugs
A search warrant for blood BAC doesn’t also allow search for drugs. State v. Johnson, 2025 Ga. App. LEXIS 18 (Jan. 28, 2025). Defendant was on supervised release and the search of his cell phone producing child pornography was reasonable. … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: Civil Franks violation was “well established” and QI denied
Plaintiff was arrested for child sexual abuse. The child recanted, and the prosecutor involved was disbarred for misconduct in this case. Plaintiff’s claim for a Franks violation was well established by 1978, and qualified immunity denied. MacMaster v. Busacca, 2025 … Continue reading
D.Mont.: Search incident doctrine didn’t apply where car was searched when def was transported to ER
Officers lacked reasonable suspicion for a probation search of defendant’s vehicle. In addition, its search couldn’t be justified by search incident when he was already transported to the hospital before the search occurred. United States v. Heafner, 2025 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: USMJ’s credibility determinations on search issue aren’t subject to de novo review
The USMJ’s credibility determinations on a search issue aren’t subject to de novo review before the USDJ. United States v. Messer, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11783 (N.D. Ga. Jan. 23, 2025).* Collective knowledge supported reasonable suspicion here to extend the … Continue reading
NY Queens: Stop based solely on car description wasn’t with RS
Defendant’s vehicle was stopped solely because of its make and color with no other justification, and thus lacking reasonable suspicion. People v. Mitchell, 2025 NYLJ LEXIS 261 (Queens Co. Jan. 22, 2025).* The use of force here on a food … Continue reading
N.D.Ohio: Alleged mishandling of drugs during execution of SW didn’t make them inadmissible
Even if the officers (mis)handled the drugs during the search, they’d still come into evidence at trial. United States v. McDonald, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11844 (N.D. Ohio Jan. 22, 2025). The trial court suppressed this cell phone search as … Continue reading
VI: Multiple falsities about CI made successful Franks challenge
Defendant succeeded in his Franks challenge on misleading statements about the CI as an observer rather than participant in the crime and the affidavit lacked corroborating investigative facts and omitted information about W1’s lies. All this was material to the … Continue reading
Cert. granted: Martin v. United States over mistaken SWAT raid
SCOTUSBlog: Justices take up case on right to sue over mistaken SWAT raid by Amy Howe:
CA9: Deleting email account to avoid SW was obstruction
Defendant deleting his email account to avoid a search warrant supported an obstruction conviction. United States v. Diaz, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 1459 (9th Cir. Jan. 23, 2025). Defendant was stopped in a high crime area without reasonable suspicion. There … Continue reading
D.Nev.: Exclusionary rule doesn’t apply before grand juries
Calandra revisited [and I haven’t seen it since Calandra]: Exclusionary rule doesn’t apply before grand juries. United States v. Jones, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11132 (D. Nev. Jan. 21, 2025). The search warrant was based on two controlled buys plus … Continue reading
N.D.Iowa: Jail strip search for safety purposes was reasonable
This jail strip search under the jail’s policy for safety purposes was reasonable. United States v. Sutton, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10974 (N.D. Iowa Jan. 22, 2025).* Not the countervailing considerations: