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ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2015-17) (discontinued 2018)
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by John Wesley Hall
Criminal Defense Lawyer and
Search and seizure law consultant
Little Rock, Arkansas
Contact: forhall @ aol.com / The Book
www.johnwesleyhall.com -
© 2003-25,
online since Feb. 24, 2003 Approx. 500,000 visits (non-robot) since 2012 Approx. 47,000 posts since 2003 (30,000+ on WordPress as of 12/31/24) -
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--Electronic Communications Privacy Act (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) -
“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] -
“You know, most men would get discouraged by now. Fortunately for you, I am not most men!”
---Pepé Le Pew -
"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)
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Category Archives: Custody
S.D.N.Y.: Def wasn’t “in custody” when SW for CP was executed at his apartment and he talked to police
Defendant’s NYC apartment was the subject of a search warrant for child pornography. Once inside, he was told repeatedly that he was not under arrest and was free to leave. He continued talking, and he wasn’t in custody for Miranda … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: The immediately apparent prong of plain view requires PC
The immediately apparent prong of plain view requires probable cause for being apparent. United States v. Brown, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52652 (N.D. Ga. Jan. 30, 2025), adopted, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50975 (N.D. Ga. Mar. 20, 2025). “In this … Continue reading
TX14: Def’s furtive movements with cell phone can justify exigency to seize it
Defendant’s furtive movements supported exigency that he could attempt to erase things on his cell phone thus justifying its warrantless seizure. Igboji v. State, 2025 Tex. App. LEXIS 1021 (Tex. App. – Houston (14th Dist.) Feb. 20, 2025) (unpublished), on … Continue reading
D.Me.: 4A doesn’t require that the search warrant be shown before execution
The Fourth Amendment doesn’t require that the search warrant be shown before execution. United States v. Tarr, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26832 (D. Me. Feb. 14, 2025).* During execution of a search warrant for a business, defendant wasn’t in custody … Continue reading
D.P.R.: Statement taken in violation of Miranda likely usable for impeachment
Defendant’s statement allegedly in violation of Miranda that the government doesn’t intend to use may be used for impeachment if the defendant contradicts them under Harris. United States v. Cardona, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22757 (D.P.R. Feb. 6, 2025). Inferences … Continue reading
D.P.R.: State nighttime search rule on state warrant inapplicable in federal court
The fact a state nighttime search warrant doesn’t comply with state law doesn’t matter in federal court. It’s whether Rule 41 and the Fourth Amendment were complied with. Then, the defendant has to show prejudice. Also, the fact defendant had … Continue reading
WY: Courthouse entry search valid under “special needs”
Defendant entered a courthouse, and the metal detector went off on a small can on him which he opened on request revealing meth. These searches are valid as “special needs.” Russell v. State, 2024 WY 126, 2024 Wyo. LEXIS 128 … Continue reading
MA: Three SWs building on each other to ultimate PC
Here there were three search warrants. The second built on the first, and the third on the second, leading to a computer search that was founded on defendant disposing of a body. “When considering the foregoing details together, there was … Continue reading
S.D.Ill.: Code enforcement officer’s entry to construction site to stop work was not a “search”
A code enforcement officer’s entry onto plaintiff’s construction site to stop work in violation of the city code was not a Fourth Amendment search. And it was otherwise reasonable. Kindle v. Eisert, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 198527 (S.D. Ill. Oct. … Continue reading
AR & PA: Def’s statements at time of search used at trial
Defendant’s DNA was taken by warrant at the jail, and his admissions about the offense during that captured on bodycam were admitted at trial. There was no questioning; it was voluntary. Torres v. State, 2024 Ark. App. 457 (Sep. 25, … Continue reading
TN: Def opened door to admit suppressed cell phone evidence by asking the one question too many
Defendant successfully kept out cell phone tracking records for lack of probable cause. “However, during trial, based on defense counsel’s question of whether there was any ‘physical evidence’ connecting Defendant to the case, the trial court ruled that Defendant opened … Continue reading
Cal.3d: A small amount of MJ in def’s car isn’t PC, but here there were suspicious circumstances that make PC
With passage of personal use marijuana in California, courts have held that a small amount in the car is not probable cause. However, “[i]t follows that a warrantless vehicle search will be justified where the presence of a lawful amount … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: Cell tower dump isn’t CSLI; doesn’t require PC, but just a court order
A cell tower dump isn’t CSLI, so actual probable cause isn’t required. Here, however, there was. In re United States, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128532 (E.D. Mich. July 18, 2024).* “Finally, the gratuitous physical aggression at the scene cannot be … Continue reading
DE: Def counsel’s failure to challenge PC and particularity in cell phone search warrants post-conviction relief
Defendant sufficiently stated grounds for ineffective assistance of counsel from defense counsel’s failure to challenge the search warrant for lack of probable cause and particularity. “Postconviction relief due to ineffectiveness of counsel must be granted in circumstances where the Court … Continue reading
WI: Community caretaking stop couldn’t be expanded without RS
Where defendant was stopped under the community caretaking function, expanding the stop without further justification was unreasonable. Here, it was because the officer thought defendant may have been driving while sleepy, but the stop was extended. State v. Wiskowski, 2024 … Continue reading
DC: Lights, coming out of car with hand on gun, and “Let me see your hands” was a seizure
This was a show of authority: “With the emergency lights activated, each officer exited the vehicle and yelled, ‘Let me see your hands’ and quickly approached Mr. Mitchell. Officer Phillip had a hand on her firearm while doing so. Officers … Continue reading
ND: Warrantless entry into garage to investigate driving on a suspended license unreasonable
Officers had probable cause to believe defendant was driving on a suspended DL, and they were parked outside his house and watched him drive into his garage. There was no exigency for the police entry into his garage to arrest … Continue reading
W.D.N.Y.: SW for devices used for video surveillance included cell phones because apps can be used to view cameras from cell phones
In a search warrant for devices capable of use in video surveillance, a cell phone qualified because apps on phones permitted home surveillance cameras (such as Ring doorbell cams) to be viewed on cell phones. United States v. Hampton, 2024 … Continue reading