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- IN: Overdose call led to EMS telling police what they saw and that led to SW
- NY1: A mental health defense waives REP in the medical records about it
- MA: When a likely Franks violation comes out at trial, def gets to reopen the suppression issue
- RI: Challenge to one sentence of 8-page cell phone records SW fails; totality has to be considered
- WaPo: Subpoena bill would curtail secretive tool used to target government critics
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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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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. 
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Cal.1: State failed to show inventory was conducted in accord with policy or that impoundment was even justified
The state failed to show that the inventory of defendant’s car was undertaken in accord with police inventory policy. Under California law, the impoundment itself must be justified. People v. Wallace, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 775 (1st Dist. Sept. 7, … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: Def failed in his burden of showing he was an overnight guest
Defendant claimed standing as an overnight guest, but nothing in the evidence supported that. He has the burden and he failed to show anything. Even if the court assumes he was there overnight, he didn’t show he was an “overnight … Continue reading
CA5: SOL on 4A claim under § 1983 starts with the search and seizure
The statute of limitations for a Fourth Amendment claim under § 1983 starts from the time of the search and seizure. Even if tolling were to apply here while plaintiff challenged his conviction, the case was filed way too late. … Continue reading
Cal.2: Police capturing loose horse on highway could enter curtilage to return it to corral
Police responded to a loose horse on the highway, and, once it was under control it was taken back to defendant’s property, and that justified entry into the curtilage. People v. Williams, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS 777 (2d Dist. Sept. … Continue reading
The Economist: What machines can tell from your face
The Economist: What machines can tell from your face Life in the age of facial recognition
Library of Law and Liberty: The Legislative History of the Fourth Amendment: Unreasonable Searches and General Warrants
Library of Law and Liberty: The Legislative History of the Fourth Amendment: Unreasonable Searches and General Warrants by Mike Rappaport:
CA11: State court allegedly applying wrong standard isn’t denial of “full and fair opportunity to litigate” in state court
Just because the state court is alleged to be wrong and applied the wrong standard, that doesn’t make the defendant was denied a full and fair opportunity to litigate in state court under Stone v. Powell. Sheffield v. Sec’y, Dep’t … Continue reading
Cal.4: DNA properly seized when crime was a felony wasn’t unreasonable after Prop 47 retroactively made it a misdemeanor
Prop 47 that retroactively reduced some felonies to misdemeanors does not mean that DNA reasonably collected back when it was a felony was unreasonably seized at the time and didn’t retroactively become unreasonable. People v. Harris, 2017 Cal. App. LEXIS … Continue reading
WV: Lawful traffic stop led to reasonable seizure of vehicle registration
The stop made for a traffic offense lawfully led to the seizure of defendant’s vehicle registration. State v. Corbin, 2017 W. Va. LEXIS 651 (Sept. 5, 2017)* (memorandum). The parties base the motion to suppress solely on the police reports, … Continue reading
NC: Police withholding exculpatory evidence found in a SW from DA that undermined PC stated § 1983 and malicious prosecution claim
Police withholding exculpatory information found in a search warrant from the DA that fully undermines the probable cause for a charge states a malicious prosecution claim. A grand jury indictment based on the faulty information doesn’t immunize the officer. Braswell … Continue reading
Lawfare: iOS 11 May Complicate Border Searches
Lawfare: iOS 11 May Complicate Border Searches by Nicholas Weaver: The upcoming iOS 11 makes further changes in order to protect users’ phones, tablets, and iPods from unauthorized access. Phones, however, cannot reliably distinguish between law enforcement, thieves, and hostile … Continue reading
lawfare: Reengineering Surveillance Oversight
lawfare: Reengineering Surveillance Oversight by Siobhan Gorman: This piece is part of a series on Tim Edgar’s new book, “Beyond Snowden.” One of the most important revelations following the disclosures by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden was the … Continue reading
techdirt: Canadian Cops Belatedly Asking For Authorization To Deploy Stingray Devices They’ve Been Using For Yearsa
techdirt: Canadian Cops Belatedly Asking For Authorization To Deploy Stingray Devices They’ve Been Using For Years by Tim Cushing: Better late than never is the motto of Canadian law enforcement Stingray Squads. Documents obtained by Vice Canada show police scrambling … Continue reading
D.Nev.: Information for probation search was woefully insufficient and some even stale
Probation officers lacked reasonable suspicion for a search of defendant’s residence, and none of the five proffered reasons was sufficient. Strongest might have been that defendant was alleged to have used anabolic steroids, but there was no probation condition against … Continue reading
OR: Suppression motion was sufficiently detailed to apprise state and court of issues; striking it was error
The trial court erred in striking defendant’s motion to suppress for generality because it fairly apprised the state and the court what the issues were. State v. Oxford, 287 Ore. App. 580, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 1019 (Aug. 30, 2017):
OR: Opening folded paper in wallet during inventory was excessive because it didn’t indicate contents
Defendant was arrested for a probation violation, and an inventory of his wallet included opening a folded piece of paper. Opening it was unreasonable because nothing suggested there was contraband inside [but there was]. State v. Garcia-Cruz, 287 Ore. App. … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: Shooting owner of a van and stealing it means no REP in the van when stopped
After test driving a van, defendant shot the owner of the van and stole it. He can’t then have a reasonable expectation of privacy in it, and, therefore, no standing. United States v. North, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 141947 (N.D. … Continue reading
AR: Def’s jumping out of the car when it was stopped for a traffic offense and saying that there was a warrant on him was RS
Defendant’s jumping out of the car when it was stopped for a traffic offense and saying that there was a warrant on him was reasonable suspicion to detain him longer. Rainey v. State, 2017 Ark. App. 427 (Sept. 6, 2017).* … Continue reading
FL5: Def made a prima facie case for IAC to get a hearing on his claim that defense counsel was ineffective for not moving to suppress a warrantless entry onto rural curtilage
Defendant stated a sufficient basis for ineffective assistance of counsel for defense counsel’s failure to file a motion to suppress the entry into the curtilage of his house from which officers could smell marijuana. Remanded for a hearing. Guevara v. … Continue reading
ctovision: FBI vs Apple: Lessons From History and The Law on Protecting Privacy Rights
ctovision: FBI vs Apple: Lessons From History and The Law on Protecting Privacy Rights by Arnold Abraham: Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a five-part series on this topic. This examination by Arnold Abraham provides insights and nuanced lessons … Continue reading