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Recent Posts
- TN: RS didn’t develop to continue stop; second stop based on first suppressed
- CA4: Traffic stop immediately became firearms investigation; suppressed
- CA10: Disagreement over spelling of street name didn’t make warrant fail particularity; GFE at least would apply
- VA: Statutory requirement to provide SW papers only applies to “places of abode”
- D.Idaho: Not unreasonable for PO to hand over def’s cell phone to LEO for extraction after RS developed from Snapchat app
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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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Congressional Research Service:
--Electronic Communications Privacy Act (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] -
“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
W.D.N.Y.: SW application wasn’t defective because it used “reasonable cause” instead of “probable cause”
The search warrant application wasn’t defective because it used “reasonable cause” instead of “probable cause.” They are interchangeable. United States v. Tundo, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84283 (W.D.N.Y. May 2, 2025). Four months of pole camera surveillance on the front … Continue reading
D.N.J.: Admin SW can’t be quashed before execution
The company here refused an OSHA administrative inspection, so OSHA got an administrative warrant. Then the company moved to quash. Citing In re Anthony Marano Company, 556 F. Supp. 3d 890 (N.D. Ill. 2021), the court holds there is no … Continue reading
D.R.I.: Presence of police backup doesn’t obviate protective sweep
Despite there being backup at the scene, the protective sweep here is valid. United States v. Antley, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78961 (D.R.I. Apr. 25, 2025). The controlled buy gave probable cause for search under the automobile exception. United States … Continue reading
W.D.Wis.: Code inspectors looking at ptf’s place from the street didn’t violate any REP
“Przychocki alleges that defendants Kearns, Grimm, and Schill violated her Fourth Amendment rights by surveilling her property from the street to identify code violations. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. A government action is a ‘search’ only … Continue reading
S.D.N.Y.: 15 months not too long to make cell phone search and review unreasonable
Fifteen months to review a cell phone search “was accomplished in a reasonable amount of time. Although a review period of fifteen months is ‘certainly not brief,’ it was not unreasonably long considering ‘the challenges of searching ESI from electronic … Continue reading
CA1: Because it’s still a federal crime, state decrim of MJ didn’t defeat PC
While Rhode Island had decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, the fact it’s still a federal crime permitted officers to prolong the stop. United States v. Pavao, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 9156 (1st Cir. Apr. 17, 2025). 2255 petitioner’s Franks claim … Continue reading
E.D.Pa.: A prison inmate has no standing in his cell
Correctional officers found 20 cell phones in defendant’s cell. He has no standing in his cell. As to the cell phone searches, even if he had standing, the warrants were not overbroad. United States v. Nasir, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS … Continue reading
CA11: When there are multiple grounds supporting a search, appellant has to respond to all
An appellate court can affirm denial of suppression on any ground supported by the record. And, when the district court finds multiple independent grounds to deny suppression, the appellant has to rebut all of them. Here, the district court found … Continue reading
CO: PC a gun was in car permits search of trunk
Defendant was a suspect in a shooting incident. He was found outside a car. There was probable cause to believe the gun was inside the passenger compartment or trunk, even though the windows were down and the trunk closed when … Continue reading
E.D.Wis.: PC was shown for a warrant for five cell phones for use in trafficking drugs
Probable cause was shown for a warrant for five cell phones for use in trafficking drugs. “The presence of the phones near drugs also gave rise to an inference that any phones associated with the defendant (in cars he drove … Continue reading
MT: Affidavit for warrant doesn’t have to anticipate defenses to potential charge
The affidavit for arrest isn’t required to rebut defendant’s potential defenses; just show probable cause. State v. Kalina, 2025 MT 70, 2025 Mont. LEXIS 352 (Apr. 8, 2025). The court had enough information to rule on the totality of circumstances … Continue reading
C.D.Cal.: Affidavit’s failure to mention state court suppressed the same search was material and reckless under Franks
The affiant’s failure to include that a state court suppressed the underlying search was material to probable cause in federal court. The state search was based on the probation search exception, but the target was off probation. “This omission created … Continue reading
E.D.Ark.: Non-parolee was subject to search with parolee in hotel room with RS drugs were being sold
Defendant was in the hotel room of another who was on parole and there was at least reasonable suspicion to believe was dealing drugs from the room. Search of the room was valid as to the defendant guest. United States … Continue reading
MI: Smell of MJ from a vehicle no longer PC
In Michigan, because of legalization of recreational marijuana the smell of marijuana from a vehicle is no longer probable cause to search. People v. Armstrong, 2025 Mich. LEXIS 583 (April 2, 2025). From the court’s syllabus:
OH4: Arrest on recalled warrant still valid under GFE
The warrants database showed a warrant for defendant, but it actually had been recalled. The officer checked dispatch who told him of the warrant, although defendant denied there was one, but he had a motive to lie to avoid arrest. … Continue reading
IN: State’s reliance on GFE not waived where it didn’t argue it but trial court decided it
“The totality of the evidence before the issuing judge was sufficient to establish probable cause. Detective Salley’s affidavit in support of the search warrant had outlined observations that law enforcement had made during surveillance of the Astro Drive Residence, which, … Continue reading
Cal.1st: Exclusionary rule doesn’t apply to DL suspensions
The exclusionary rule doesn’t apply to DL suspension proceedings. Kazelka v. Cal. Dep’t of Motor Vehicles, 2025 Cal. App. LEXIS 196 (1st Dist. Mar. 27, 2025). Officers responded to a shots fired call in a Bronx apartment and entered and … Continue reading
WA: Mandatory UAs valid on supervision despite not being related to crime of conviction
Even though mandatory UA for drug and alcohol don’t directly relate to defendant’s crimes of conviction, there still is a compelling interest in the state being able to test. State v. Nelson, 2025 Wash. LEXIS 150 (Mar. 27, 2025). The … Continue reading
W.D.Va.: No REP in non-legal jail mail from being scanned for tablet viewing
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in non-legal mail in jail. Here, mail was scanned and made into a pdf for viewing on a tablet. Cecil v. Keller, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56313 (W.D. Va. Mar. 25, 2025).* A … Continue reading
E.D.La.: Def’s presence at another SW execution admissible under 404(b)
Defendant’s presence at a drug house when another search warrant was served is admissible under 404(b). United States v. Holmes, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55926 (E.D. La. Mar. 26, 2025).* Defendant’s performance on SFSTs was probable cause for his arrest … Continue reading