September 2026 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Archives
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Recent Posts
- WaPo: Americans have turned against police cameras that track license plates, new survey shows
- W.D.Tex.: What is the duty of the neutral and detached magistrate?
- D.Me.: Yes, more investigation could have been done, but there’s still PC on what there was
- CA3: Brady doesn’t apply to SW materials
- E.D.Mich.: Person a cell phone was given to as gift could consent to search
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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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Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Resources
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
RI: IP address in CP case is PC for the premises
Rhode Island decides for the first time that IP information in a child pornography case is probable cause for the building at that location. Yes, it could be another person at that address, but that’s not the point. In re … Continue reading
N.D.Iowa: Suppression hearing review isn’t de novo; it’s whether there is a substantial basis for finding PC
The district court’s duty at a suppression hearing is not de novo review of probable cause – it’s whether there is substantial evidence to support the conclusion of the issuing magistrate that there was probable cause. United States v. Mohring, … Continue reading
CA8: Hotel staff photographed evidence of drug use in room which corroborated CI
The information in the search warrant application was sufficient to show a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime would be found in a hotel room registered to a known drug user who had recently tested positive for … Continue reading
S.D.Fla.: Waving a gun at a crowd is PC for assault
Defendant’s waving a gun at a crowd was probable cause, and it was on video. United States v. Leonard, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97917 (S.D. Fla. June 11, 2019).* “The defendants have not shown that Det. Miller was reckless or … Continue reading
S.D.Ohio: SW for “firearms” is particular when target is a felon
When the target of a search is a convicted felon, a search warrant for stolen firearms doesn’t need to be specific as to their description because mere possession is a crime. United States v. Prigmore, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96217 … Continue reading
AK: Can’t argue one 4A theory to trial court and another to appellate court
In the trial court, defendant argued that the seizure of his clothing in a hospital room was not a valid plain view. On appeal, however, he argues that entry into the hospital room itself was unreasonable. One can’t change the … Continue reading
N.D.Ind.: Not putting in affidavit after controlled buy that CI was searched doesn’t void the SW
The officer’s failure to include in the affidavit that the CI was searched before going in is a matter for the issuing judge to consider. “Here, the lack of information regarding the credibility of the purchasers as well as the … Continue reading
CA9: Criminal history can be a consideration in the totality of PC
Defendant’s state parole search condition required no cause, and the search was valid. There also was probable cause on the totality, and criminal history was a valid consideration of probable cause, but not determinative. United States v. King, 2019 U.S. … Continue reading
TX: After Franks hearing that removed information from the affidavit, there is no heightened standard of PC
After removing false information after a Franks hearing, the standard of review of probable cause remains the same. There is no heightened standard of probable cause after Franks. Hyland v. State, 2019 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 542 (June 5, 2019). … Continue reading
E.D.Cal.: Broad discovery in hopes of finding a Franks violation isn’t proper under Rule 16
Defendant doesn’t get broad discovery just to see whether a Franks claim might be able to be made. He needs to be more specific and not just fish around. United States v. Walker, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92699 (E.D. Cal. … Continue reading
D.Minn.: SW for house that includes def’s car if “near” is constitutionally sufficient
The search warrant for defendant’s house included his car if found “near,” and it was not overbroad. It might have better for there to be a search warrant just for the car, too, but that’s not constitutionally required. United States … Continue reading
CA6 (en banc): The question of PC isn’t even close, and the GFE applies
The question of probable cause isn’t even close, and the good faith exception applies. United States v. Christian, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 16322 (6th Cir. May 31, 2019) (en banc). (The dissent is concerned about use of criminal history as … Continue reading
D.Mont.: PC to arrest also justifies extension of a stop
There was probable cause to arrest, and that also justified the extension of the stop. The actual arrest doesn’t have to happen during the extension. United States v. Phillips, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89962 (D. Mont. April 12, 2019), adopted, … Continue reading
W.D.N.Y.: PC was shown in the affidavit; the possibility of another innocent explanation doesn’t undermine PC
There was probable cause for issuance of the search warrant for defendant’s house. The possibility of another explanation doesn’t mean there isn’t probable cause. “The defendant argues that the facts are equally consistent with the possibility that the narcotics were … Continue reading
SCOTUS: Nieves v. Bartlett: Probable cause to arrest defeats a First Amendment retaliation claim except where there otherwise would not have been an arrest
Nieves v. Bartlett, 17–1174 (May 28, 2019): Probable cause to arrest defeats a First Amendment retaliation claim except where there otherwise would not have been an arrest (maybe a really hard standard to meet). SCOTUSBlog: Opinion analysis: The First Amendment, … Continue reading
OH10: Aside from the SW for def’s house, there was PC to stop him in his car leaving for his arrest
Officers had a search warrant for defendant’s premises. Based on a controlled buy, there was also probable cause to independently stop him leaving his own house. State v. Taylor, 2019-Ohio-2018, 2019 Ohio App. LEXIS 2088 (10th Dist. May 23, 2019). … 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
TX3: Littering supports a stop
Littering by tossing a cigarette supports a stop. Two statutes apply when it’s something burning: one if a fire results, one if not. This was the latter. Defendant was found DWI. State v. Wood, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 4215 (Tex. … Continue reading
OH9: Thermal imaging SW lacked PC when only electrical usage was mentioned
The thermal imaging search warrant was bare bones and did not support probable cause or application of the good faith exception. Electrical usage alone was not enough: “No additional information or data regarding the properties or their electricity usage is … Continue reading