Archives
-
Recent Posts
- D.Mont.: Delay of USPS Express Mail for dog sniff didn’t violate 4A
- S.D.W.Va.: Warrantless arrest at door for CSAM didn’t support plain view seizure of cell phone
- OH2: Parking on the grass justified stop
- CA11: NCMEC’s cybertips are reliable enough to support PC and the GFE
- MS: Execution style murder in public in broad daylight was exigency to get suspect’s CSLI
-
Feedspot’s Best Legal Blogs and Websites 2023-2026,
also, firm website Top 90 Criminal Law Blogs 2026 -
-
ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2015-17) (then discontinued)
-
-
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) -
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fourth Amendment cases, citations, and links -
Latest Slip Opinions:
U.S. Supreme Court (Home)
S.Ct. Shadow Docket Database
Federal Appellate Courts Opinions
First Circuit
Second Circuit
Third Circuit
Fourth Circuit
Fifth Circuit
Sixth Circuit
Seventh Circuit
Eighth Circuit
Ninth Circuit
Tenth Circuit
Eleventh Circuit
D.C. Circuit
Federal Circuit
Foreign Intell.Surv.Ct.
FDsys, many district courts, other federal courts
Military Courts: C.A.A.F., Army, AF, N-M, CG, SF
State courts (and some USDC opinions)
Google Scholar
Advanced Google Scholar
Google search tips
LexisWeb
LII State Appellate Courts
LexisONE free caselaw
Findlaw Free Opinions
To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
Research Links:
Supreme Court:
SCOTUSBlog
S. Ct. Docket
Solicitor General's site
SCOTUSreport
Briefs online (but no amicus briefs)
Oyez Project (NWU)
"On the Docket"–Medill
S.Ct. Monitor: Law.com
S.Ct. Com't'ry: Law.com
-
General (many free):
LexisWeb
Google Scholar | Google
LexisOne Legal Website Directory
Crimelynx
Lexis.com $
Lexis.com (criminal law/ 4th Amd) $
Findlaw.com
Findlaw.com (4th Amd)
Westlaw.com $
F.R.Crim.P. 41
www.fd.org
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Resources
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (2008) (pdf)
DEA Agents Manual (2002) (download)
DOJ Computer Search Manual (2009) (pdf)
Stringrays (ACLU No. Cal.) (pdf)
-
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)
ACLU on privacy
Privacy Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
NACDL’s Domestic Drone Information Center
Electronic Privacy Information Center
Criminal Appeal (post-conviction) (9th Cir.)
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)
-
“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: Issue preclusion
CA6: The state’s violation of a prison policy doesn’t make a 4A claim
Plaintiff inmate “cannot state a claim for a violation of prison policy because prison policy directives are insufficient to create a liberty interest under the Fourth Amendment. See Olim v. Wakinekona, 461 U.S. 238, 250-51 (1983); ….” IFP motion denied. … Continue reading
W.D.Tex.: No REP in tent where def was trespassing
Where defendant was staying in a tent on TXDOT property with no trespassing signs, he had no reasonable expectation of privacy when an officer opened the tent flap and saw marijuana and a gun. He was a felon in possession. … Continue reading
MO: Search incident to 96 hour mental health hold was reasonable
Defendant was picked up on a warrant for 96 hour mental commitment hold. The search incident to that was reasonable. “[T]he deputies’ search of Salcedo, incident to Salcedo being taken into custody pursuant to a warrant under section 632.305 for … Continue reading
Cal.2d: Questions posed during a traffic stop while waiting for the records check do not extend the stop
Questions posed during a traffic stop while waiting for the records check to come back do not extend the stop. People v. Felix, 2024 Cal. App. LEXIS 154 (2d Dist. Mar. 7, 2024). Defendant’s bad search claim as part of … Continue reading
D.N.D.: Defs showed no connection to the premises as overnight guests to have standing
Defendants had no real connection to the place searched to have standing. “There was no evidence presented to support the Defendants’ allegation that they had permission from the owners (Stevens and Levings) to stay in the home as overnight guests. … Continue reading
C.D.Cal.: Holding back on 4A claim in habeas was waiver and Stone barred
2254 petitioner had a duty to raise his alleged search claims timely in state court, and his failure to do so “doomed” that claim on habeas. Claiming a desire to raise it later is almost certainly too little too late. … Continue reading
S.D.Cal.: Challenge to PC for revo warrant has to be made in the district where the warrant comes from
Challenge to the probable cause for a revocation warrant has to be made in the district issuing it, not this one where defendant currently resides. United States v. Carranza-Cruz, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31590 (S.D. Cal. Feb. 23, 2024).* The … Continue reading
E.D.N.C.: Shed on curtilage shown on Google satellite image attached to affidavit was properly searched although not specified in SW
A shed by the house was properly searched under a warrant for the house. “As a general rule, a supporting affidavit or document may be read together with (and considered a part of) a warrant that otherwise lacks sufficient particularity … Continue reading
D.Minn.: Terry stop with guns drawn was reasonable here
An otherwise lawful Terry stop wasn’t made unreasonable because officers, fearing a weapon, approached with guns drawn. United States v. Thomas, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 234913 (D. Minn. Dec. 13, 2023), adopted 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21178 (D. Minn. Feb. … Continue reading
CA9: Questioning motorist about probation status for 10 seconds and safety reasons was reasonable
Questioning defendant about his probation or parole status, albeit for about 10 seconds and clearly for safety reasons, did not unreasonably extend the stop. United States v. Beltran, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS 2003 (9th Cir. Jan. 30, 2024). There was … Continue reading
CA8: Affiant officer’s belief that criminals brag about crimes on social media allows cell phone search in a gun case
“We conclude the affidavit adequately established probable cause that Ivey’s cell phone would contain evidence of a firearms offense. Officers found the phone in Ivey’s possession while he was located in a vehicle with a gun under his seat. The … Continue reading
D.R.I.: SW required for a short term CSLI Tower Dump
Finding short term CSLI obtained by a cell phone tower dump also protected by the Fourth Amendment, the court holds, disagreeing with other courts, that a warrant was required, but the good faith exception applies. An long, interesting opinion. “The … Continue reading
CA2: Reason to believe ptf was inside justified entry with arrest warrant under Payton
Officers had an arrest warrant for plaintiff, and that gave them the ability to enter his home to look for him under Payton when they had a reasonable belief he was inside. United States v. Johnson, 2024 U.S. App. LEXIS … Continue reading
KS: PC for truck extended to its fifth-wheel trailer
With probable cause to search defendant’s truck, that extended to the fifth-wheel trailer it was towing. State v. Crudo, 2024 Kan. LEXIS 4 (Jan. 12, 2024). The “Rodriguez moment” came when the officer asked for consent to search. On the … Continue reading
DE: Challenge to search after PG doesn’t show actual innocence
After acquired information that a cell site simulator might have been misused doesn’t show actual innocence or undermine guilty plea. “The appellant pleaded guilty, and his assertion that he has new evidence that law enforcement illegally or improperly used cell-site … Continue reading
CA11: Austrian SW executed in Austria couldn’t be questioned here under “act of state” doctrine
Plaintiff, apparently while in the United States, had his property in Austria searched by Austrian authorities with an Austrian search warrant. [Aside from what jurisdiction is there here?,] The “act of state” doctrine prohibits a U.S. court from questioning the … Continue reading
W.D.Okla.: When officer’s observation obviates the reason for the stop, the already initiated warrant check can be completed
Defendant was stopped for suspected DUI and a warrant check was called for. The officer promptly learned that defendant wasn’t DUI, but it was reasonable to still wait for the warrant check to be completed, here just a couple of … Continue reading
N.D.Tex.: Video camera in pretrial detainee’s cell that showed the toilet was reasonable
“Ellis alleges that the placement of cameras in his cell that could record the toilet violated his Fourth Amendment right to privacy and constituted a state tort of invasion of privacy. ECF No. 19 at 19-22. But a pretrial detainee … Continue reading
N-M: 94-day delay in getting cell phone SW was unreasonable; GFE not applicable
The search of defendant’s iPhones and iPads lacked probable cause at the time it happened. His wife had apparent authority to search because she knew the passcodes but that doesn’t equate to her apparent authority to seize them. Also, the … Continue reading