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Recent Posts
- S.D.Ohio: Affidavit alleged only that drug dealers use cell phones, and that’s not PC; but GFE saves it
- Reason: Iowa Voters Don’t Want Police or Flock Tracking Their Cars. Politicians Are Still Catching Up.
- Reason: The Founders Warned Against Secret Arrests. ICE Is Testing That Principle.
- UT: Lack of a bodycam doesn’t make officer not believable
- W.D.La.: Gant search incident permitted for arrest for violation of supervised release terms
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Feedspot’s Best Legal Blogs and Websites 2023-2026,
also, firm website Top 90 Criminal Law Blogs 2026 -
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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)
ACLU on privacy
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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: Probable cause
N.D.Ohio: Trial testimony showed search was by consent, so no IAC
Defendant’s 2255 claim that defense counsel was ineffective for not challenging a search is belied by trial testimony, the only suggestion there is, that the search was by consent. Francis v. United States, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 245228 (N.D. Ohio … Continue reading
CA3 notes inventory policy not in evidence supporting § 1983 judgment and affirms
In a Fourth Amendment § 1983 case tried to a jury, the claim of an unreasonable inventory search prevailed before the jury. Yet, there was no written policy put into evidence by the parties. Affirmed on this ground. Watley v. … Continue reading
IL: Conversation with passenger while waiting for transport for arrested driver didn’t extend the stop
Defendant was a passenger in a car stopped for a seat belt violation. The driver had no DL and he was handcuffed. While waiting for transport of the driver, the arresting officer engaged him in conversation. This was reasonable and … Continue reading
N.Y.Co.: Warrant to seize DNA includes state’s ability to test
When a warrant is obtained to get evidence, here DNA, a separate warrant isn’t required to test it. People v. Belliard, 2020 NY Slip Op 20346, 2020 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 10747 (N.Y. Co. Dec. 22, 2020). “The totality of the … Continue reading
CAAF: Not all details of alleged offense need to be included in request for search authorization
The military trial judge erred in concluding that the search authorization required AFOSI complete information to determine probable cause for defendant’s DNA in a sex assault case. It’s not. Just because there were differing versions of how dressed the victim … Continue reading
OH7: Police going to def’s back window and video recording him in house violated curtilage
A police officer coming to the back of defendant’s house to look in the window and video him with a cell phone violated curtilage and his reasonable expectation of privacy. State v. Desarro, 2020-Ohio-6815, 2020 Ohio App. LEXIS 4661 (7th … Continue reading
D.N.H.: Separate PC was shown even though stop was made to aid DEA investigation
Officers wanted defendant’s car stopped and probable cause for a searched developed because they didn’t want to reveal a DEA investigation. The traffic officer waited for a traffic violation and then developed probable cause during the stop. United States v. … Continue reading
CA8: DV order of protection and def’s seeking his firearms was PC for SW
Defendant was under a DV order of protection and repeatedly attempted to recover firearms from the police department, and that was probable cause for a warrant for his house. United States v. Bachler, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 39772 (8th Cir. … Continue reading
IN: Odor of MJ alone may not be enough for PC without showing training
On the facts of this case, the mere odor of marijuana wasn’t enough to show probable cause. The officers never explained why they believed that or what their training was. Bunnell v. State, 2020 Ind. App. LEXIS 538 (Dec. 18, … Continue reading
W.D.Ky.: PC to arrest for a drug crime doesn’t require a completed crime
Probable cause for arrest because of planning to commit a drug crime based on corroborated CI information without the drug transaction even happening. United States v. Kristopher, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 236421 (W.D. Ky. Dec. 16, 2020) [e.g., attempt, conspiracy]. … Continue reading
OH5: Def’s large knife on his belt justified patdown for additional weapons
“We concur with the trial court that Officer Sholl had a sufficient reasonable objective basis under the totality of the circumstances to frisk appellant for weapons. Appellant had a large fixed blade knife on his belt loop. A pat down … Continue reading
NE: Search of def’s car valid under automobile exception where he was late for third controlled buy
When defendant didn’t show up for his third controlled buy, police went to him and searched his car finding the drugs. They had probable cause for that search under the automobile exception. State v. Garza, 29 Neb. App. 223 (Dec. … Continue reading
NY2: Affidavit for SW for cell phone completely failed to show PC
The affidavit for the search warrant for defendant’s cell phone completely failed to show probable cause to search it and seize photographs. People v. Boothe, 2020 NY Slip Op 07084. 2020 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7311 (2d Dept. Nov. 25, … Continue reading
TX: Totality of affidavit justified on totality SW for surveillance videos even though affidavit didn’t explicitly say so
While the affidavit for search warrant didn’t explicitly say that it wanted the DVR for surveillance cameras to prove a crime at the business, the totality of the affidavit leaves the impression from common knowledge that seizure and search was … Continue reading
E.D.Wis.: Clerical error in attaching wrong SW to affidavit where there were more than one for def could be corrected
A clerical error in attaching the wrong affidavit to multiple search warrants for defendant’s property could be read through and corrected. As to the probable cause, the affidavits showed it and the good faith exception would apply. United States v. … Continue reading
OH11: Trial court’s order denying unsealing SW affidavit in post-conviction case wasn’t final and appealable
In a post-conviction case, the trial court’s order denying a motion to unseal a search warrant affidavit to facilitate his case was not a final appealable order. State v. Miller, 2020-Ohio-5383, 2020 Ohio App. LEXIS 4231 (11th Dist. Nov. 23, … Continue reading
UT: When two grounds support an arrest, attacking only one means affirmance
“Devenpeck, along with Utah appellate law, is controlling here. Whether Officer possessed probable cause to arrest Sanchez for DUI is irrelevant. What is relevant is whether the objective circumstances—the ‘known facts,’ see Devenpeck, 543 U.S. at 153—provided probable cause for … Continue reading
OH2: Inventory and tow of vehicle disabled in accident was reasonable under community caretaking function
Defendant’s vehicle was inventoried and then towed by Dayton PD because it was disabled after an accident blocking a busy intersection. There was no warning to defendant it was going to happen. It was within the community caretaking function of … Continue reading
CA9: Officer opening car door and leaning inside was a search
“Because opening the car door and leaning into the car constituted an unlawful search under the Fourth Amendment, the panel considered what remedy is appropriate in this case. The panel held that the exclusionary rule applies to the loaded handgun … Continue reading
S.D.N.Y.: Mental health detentions don’t require actual showing of dangerous behavior; probability enough
A mental health detention “requires only a ‘probability or substantial chance’ of dangerous behavior, not an actual showing of such behavior.’” … Probable cause for involuntary hospitalization may be established from ‘information gleaned from informants[,] … normally the putative victim … Continue reading