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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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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) -
“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) -
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, Little Rock 
Category Archives: Curtilage
IN: SW for house includes the curtilage
A search warrant for a house gives police the ability to search the curtilage, too. Hardin v. State, 2019 Ind. App. LEXIS 234 (May 29, 2019). Navajo Nation police officers had implied license to approach the front door of a … Continue reading
MO: SW for a house includes the garden in the curtilage
The search warrant for defendant’s home authorized a search of defendant’s garden because, under Jardines, the curtilage is considered part of the house itself. State v. Daggett, 2019 Mo. App. LEXIS 843 (May 28, 2019). A state court’s 2017 cell … Continue reading
LA5: Car in driveway near the street wasn’t on the curtilage
Defendant’s car in the driveway within an hour of the crime enabled the police to look in the windows and see proceeds from the crime inside without violating the curtilage. A search warrant was obtained, and the look was reasonable. … Continue reading
CA8: Entry onto def’s back porch with arrest warrant was reasonable
The entry to defendant’s back porch was reasonable because he was there with an arrest warrant. On the back porch he saw some potential equipment for a meth lab. When the police applied for a search warrant, the product of … Continue reading
IL: Odor of marijuana detected during a knock-and-talk was reasonably obtained
Odor of marijuana detected during a knock-and-talk was reasonably obtained. People v. Brandt, 2019 IL App (4th) 180219, 2019 Ill. App. LEXIS 224 (Apr. 2, 2019). There was probable cause for plaintiff’s arrest for constructive possession. He was long time … Continue reading
ID: Old faded “no trespassing” sign that was apparently not prominent wasn’t notice officer couldn’t enter curtilage
Defendant’s argument that his single old and faded “No Trespassing” sign was enough to revoke any implied license to approach his house is rejected. The court leaves open the possibility in a factually more stark case one sign could be … Continue reading
IN: Officer at front door to do knock-and-talk could look through gap in blinds
Officer who was at front of house to do a knock and talk did not conduct an illegal search when he heard noise inside and looked through a gap in the blinds. Jardines is distinguished, and the court used the … Continue reading
FL1: Entry into def’s backyard for “strong chemical smell” was without showing exigency and suppressed
Police entered defendant’s backyard based on a call about a strong chemical smell. He was grinding glass with a heavy tool. They saw two women and another man visible inside the shed. They ordered him out and then got defendant … Continue reading
D.V.I.: “Premises” includes the curtilage
The premises for a search warrant includes the curtilage, and drugs found hidden outside the house on the curtilage just a few feet from the house were properly seized. United States v. Dowling, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34956 (D. V.I. … Continue reading
OH8: Plain view of hit and run vehicle in driveway justified officers’ entry onto curtilage
Defendant raises his search claim via an ineffective assistance of counsel claim: defense counsel should have suppressed the plain view of his vehicle in his driveway partly covered by a blanket. Officers responded to an anonymous tip that defendant’s SUV … Continue reading
CA6: Knock-and-talk on curtilage was permitted
Officers came to plaintiff’s home for a knock-and-talk, and he went out the back with a gun in hand. One officer pursued him, and he ended up racking and pointing the gun and getting shot. The officers get qualified immunity … Continue reading
VA: SW tainted by unlawful entry onto the curtilage for a smell
The evidence obtained pursuant to a search warrant was tainted by police officers’ initial unlawful entry onto defendant’s curtilage. Without that unlawful entry, the officers had no evidence connecting the marijuana odor to defendant or his residence. In addition, he … Continue reading
IA: Stolen tractor tires were visible from the curtilage and entry permitted
Defendant was suspected of possession of stolen property. Police came to his rural property to talk to him where he was self-employed working on tractors in back. He had a circular driveway. From the driveway they could see the outbuildings … Continue reading
FL5: Apparent ongoing animal abuse is an exigency permitting entry onto curtilage
Police responded to a call about suspected animal abuse and a beating of a dog. When the officer arrived he could hear the beating, and he came into the backyard and saw a bloodied dog with his tongue out. The … Continue reading
M.D.Tenn.: Def was sitting in car on friend’s curtilage visiting the friend, and officer violated curtilage to look in car window
Defendant was in his car on another person’s curtilage when he was there to visit. The officer’s walking up to the car on the curtilage of the owner to look in defendant’s car window violated the Fourth Amendment. United States … Continue reading
OH5: A mandated CP reporter isn’t a state actor
The fact AOL is a mandated reporter of child pornography that it discovers does not make AOL a state actor in its discovery of child pornography. Thus, AOL’s search of the email was a private search. Then there was a … Continue reading
D.Ariz.: Search of car on curtilage fails under Collins
The search of defendant’s car ostensibly under the automobile exception fails under Collins v. Virginia. It was clearly on the curtilage, and the exclusionary rule is applied. United States v. Bautista, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 197792 (D. Ariz. Nov. 20, … Continue reading
FL1: Def’s car search outside his chain link fence was outside the curtilage
Defendant was stopped for a traffic offense, but he made it to his mobile home and parked outside the chain link fence. The court finds the car was outside the curtilage under Dunn when the stop and dog sniff occurred. … Continue reading
IL: Dog sniff at motel room door violates 4A
A 2014 dog sniff at a motel room door violates the Fourth Amendment, and a reasonably well-trained officer in Illinois would know that. Suppressed. People v. Lindsey, 2018 IL App (3d) 150877, 2018 Ill. App. LEXIS 807 (Oct. 30, 2018). … Continue reading
AZ: Opaque fence, no trespassing signs, and security cameras might bar entry to curtilage; remanded for more findings
Defendant had an opaque privacy fence and allegedly had no trespassing signs. His mailbox was outside the fence and there were security cameras. The officer passed both to come to the door to knock, and then he could smell marijuana. … Continue reading