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- KS: 13 days pole camera surveillance violated no REP
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- CAAF: GFE applies to cell phone’s geolocation data because of substantial basis for the search authorization
- CA9: When a digital computer search reveals a CP hash value, officer doesn’t have to see image to have PC
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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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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
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General (many free):
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FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (2008) (pdf)
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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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"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: Reasonable expectation of privacy
MT: When officers lawfully get ID, they can run it
Running defendant’s name after lawfully asking for ID led to a warrant, and it was all reasonable. State v. Fish, 2026 MT 12 (Feb. 3, 2026)*: At no point during his interaction with Fish did Deputy Kammerzell breach the Fourth … Continue reading
GA: Visitor has no REP in common areas of host’s home
The MV’s grandmother suspected defendant was molesting her granddaughter. She placed a video camera in the living room. It was obvious with a red light on it, and there was a sign that a camera was in use. He moved … Continue reading
E.D.N.C.: No REP in one’s own property in a stolen car
Defendant was in a stolen car, so no standing at all under Byrd. (The convoluted issue of search incident after Gant with Fourth Circuit authority never revisited is avoided for now.) United States v. Tyson, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15809 … Continue reading
D.N.M.: Impoundment of backpack not shown proper under police procedures
The impoundment of defendant’s car and his backpack from an apartment complex parking lot was not shown to be within the standardized procedures of the department. That’s the government’s burden. Motion to suppress granted. United States v. Majedi, 2026 U.S. … Continue reading
VA: Exclusionary rule does not apply in animal cruelty forfeitures
The exclusionary rule does not apply in animal cruelty forfeitures, distinguishing One 1958 Plymouth Sedan v. Pennsylvania. Mogensen v. Cty. of Rockbridge, 2026 Va. App. LEXIS 46 (Jan. 27, 2026). Defendant’s stop for a broken taillight lacked reasonable suspicion because … Continue reading
Reason: ICE Tells Legal Observer, ‘We Have a Nice Little Database, and Now You’re Considered a Domestic Terrorist’
Reason: ICE Tells Legal Observer, ‘We Have a Nice Little Database, and Now You’re Considered a Domestic Terrorist’ by C.J. Ciaramella (“Video taken this [Friday] in Maine shows an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer taking pictures of a legal … Continue reading
D.Md.: AG’s admin. investigative demand for improper purpose and quashed; constitutional right of privacy in medical records
The AG issued a subpoena to a hospital for records of adolescent gender affirming care. The subpoena is quashed. The subject has Art. III standing. There is no allegation of a health care offense to support the subpoena. In addition, … Continue reading
ME: No REP in the shower area of a day homeless resource center
Defendant used a homeless resource center by day for taking showers. He was not an overnight guest and had no standing in the shower dressing area. State v. Zackaria, 2026 ME 2, 2026 Me. LEXIS 2 (Jan. 13, 2026). Officers … Continue reading
The Intercept: FBI Raid on WaPo Reporter’s Home Was Based on Sham Pretext
The Intercept: FBI Raid on WaPo Reporter’s Home Was Based on Sham Pretext (“On Wednesday morning, the FBI raided the home of Washington Post journalist Hannah Natanson in an alarming escalation of the Trump administration’s war on press freedom. The … Continue reading
E.D.N.C.: No REP in tent in homeless encampment that was trespassing on private property
Defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in his tent in a homeless encampment on someone else’s private property. That’s “wrongful presence.” He also disclaimed the tent, but standing is enough to deny relief. United States v. Tillman, 2026 U.S. … Continue reading
D.Ariz.: No standing while violating order of protection
Being inside the garage of this house in violation of an order of protection means no standing. Hernandez v. Chandler, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3096 (D. Ariz. Jan. 7, 2026). The visual sweep of defendant’s car was just meticulous and … Continue reading
TX13: Student’s surreptitious recording of school resource officer planning to plant evidence violated no REP
Defendant was a school resource officer who wanted to search a classroom for a vape. The students were all ordered out of the class. One left her phone on record and captured the officer finding the vape and then discussing … Continue reading
TX3: Motion to suppress never ruled on is waived for appeal
Defendant filed a motion to suppress but didn’t get a hearing or ruling on it. Then, at trial, made a motion in limine but that didn’t preserve the lack of probable cause issue from the motion to suppress. It’s all … Continue reading
NY Kings Co.: Def had a REP in his space in a homeless shelter
Defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy in his space in a homeless shelter against a warrantless entry. People v. Maquila, 2025 NY Slip Op 25270, 2025 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 9887 (Kings Co. Dec. 17, 2025):
OH6: Def’s medical records from hospital required SW not GJ subpoena
Defendant’s hospital records were obtained by grand jury subpoena. He moved to suppress claiming that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy and a warrant was required. The court agrees, rejecting numerous arguments from the state. In addition, the court … Continue reading
CA5: Overnight guest’s stuff subject to search under warrant for premises
Defendant was an overnight guest at the place searched, and the officers executing a warrant were authorized to search her stuff, too. United States v. Inyang, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 30148 (5th Cir. Nov. 18, 2025). Undercover officer’s recording in … Continue reading
PR: No REP in property where def not entitled to be
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in property where the defendant isn’t entitled to be, abandoned or otherwise unoccupied. El Pueblo v. Rondón, 2025 TSPR 113 (Nov. 4, 2025). (translation by Lexis) The stop of this known felon was … Continue reading
E.D.N.Y.: No standing in husband’s cell phone searched in Syria; no REP in NCEM database
“Defendant Halima Salman is charged with receiving military type training from a foreign terrorist organization in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339D.” The government maintains a database of who is involved in military activities overseas: NMEC. Defendant’s … Continue reading
CA10: Merely lifting a suitcase or bag is not a search
Merely lifting a suitcase or bag is not a search, whereas squeezing (Bond) would be. United States v. Fernandez, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 27567 (10th Cir. Oct. 22, 2025). The odor of marijuana coming from a house is still probable … Continue reading
S.D.N.Y.: No REP in one’s talking to oneself in a building elevator that security cameras picked up
Plaintiff had no reasonable expectation of privacy in talking to himself in his building elevator. Therefore, Title III didn’t apply. He knew there was video recording but not audio. “While in the elevator, Plaintiff writes that that is when he … Continue reading