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ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2017); ABA Journal Blawg 100 (2015-16)
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© 2003-21,
online since Feb. 24, 2003
WebPage Visits: real non-robot hits since 2010; approx. about 30,000 posts since 2003~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fourth Amendment cases,
citations, and linksLatest Slip Opinions:
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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $Research Links:
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Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Resources
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (2008) (pdf)
DEA Agents Manual (2002) (download)
DOJ Computer Search Manual (2009) (pdf)
Stringrays (ACLU No. Cal.) (pdf)
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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NACDL’s Domestic Drone Information Center
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Criminal Appeal (post-conviction) (9th Cir.)
Section 1983 Blog"If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. It isn't, and they don't."
—Me“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"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"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!”
"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."
---Pepé Le Pew
—Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 13-14 (1948)
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Category Archives: Franks doctrine
WA: Prior knowledge of arrest warrant became stale
Stale information that a warrant existed for defendant was not probable cause when the warrant had been recalled, and no one checked the day of the arrest. State v. Pines, 2021 Wash. App. LEXIS 1160 (May 10, 2021). Subpoenas to … Continue reading
W.D.La.: When cash and heroin found in car search, a notebook could be seized
When heroin and cash were found in the search of a car based on the smell of marijuana, seizure of a notebook was reasonable. The notebook was limited information compared to a cell phone. United States v. Pierre, 2021 U.S. … Continue reading
WI: Burning mj in a house is exigency of evidence being destroyed by burning
The smell of burning marijuana is exigent circumstances because the contraband is being destroyed by burning. State v. B.W.R., 2021 Wisc. App. LEXIS 201 (Apr. 28, 2021) (unpublished). Under Birchfield, “An increased penalty for the warrantless blood draw refusal revocation … Continue reading
MI: Anonymous tip for def’s stop was uncorroborated and unreasonable
The officer stopping defendant’s vehicle lacked reasonable suspicion that defendant was engaged in criminal activity based on an anonymous tip. Even assuming that the tipster was reliable led only to the conclusion that defendant appeared to be obnoxious and was … Continue reading
CA6: Affiant’s not checking the accuracy of information in a computer system before relying on it was not a Franks violation
The affiant’s not checking the accuracy of information in a computer system before relying on it was not a Franks violation. United States v. Thomas, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 11884 (6th Cir. Apr. 20, 2021):
N.D.Ga.: Cell tower dumps to attempt to solve 12 robberies did not require SW
There were 12 robberies and officers got cell tower dumps to attempt to figure out the phone involved. Cell tower dumps did not require a search warrant. United States v. Rhodes, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75184 (N.D. Ga. Apr. 20, … Continue reading
D.N.M.: Detention hearing argument that there were “dispositive” 4A issues goes nowhere
Defendant’s argument responding to his detention order that there are significant potentially “dispositive” Fourth Amendment issues falls on deaf ears. United States v. Silguero, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72565 (D.N.M. Apr. 15, 2021).* Rodriguez complied with: “The information that Kilpela … Continue reading
M.D.Pa.: Franks hearing denied for speculation on what video evidence might show
Defendant doesn’t get a Franks hearing that the officer knew or should have known that his CI actually went into defendant’s apartment based on video surveillance that allegedly would disprove it. He doesn’t show that the video shows what he … Continue reading
S.D.Tex.: Affidavit of convicted felon who may have been conspirator and was deported wasn’t sufficient offer of proof under Franks in face of other evidence
Defendant’s claim was that alleged cocaine wrappers found were actually wrappers for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and that’s a Franks violation. “The only evidence that Defendant has produced to support his contention that the bags contained sandwiches is the … Continue reading
CT: Both halves of a duplex can’t be searched under a warrant for one
A search of both halves of a duplex under a search warrant for one was unreasonable and had to be suppressed. State v. Lyons, 2021 Conn. App. LEXIS 100 (Mar. 30, 2021). Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not challenging the … Continue reading
W.D.La.: Govt showed justification for protective sweep of person then car
“The firearms and drugs were found during the protective sweep of the passenger area of the vehicle. The initial stop and pat-down of Defendant were justified under Terry, and the subsequent protective sweep of the car for weapons was a … Continue reading
E.D.Wis.: Ptf’s civil case over his criminal case might run afoul of Heck so it’s ordered stayed
It appears that plaintiff’s complaint over his criminal case would likely be barred under Heck if he’s convicted. Therefore, it is administratively closed and stayed. McClain v. Morales, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53173 (E.D. Wis. Mar. 22, 2021). Defendant’s motion … Continue reading
D.S.D.: Suppression or dismissal aren’t remedies for violation of Right to Financial Privacy Act
Grand jury subpoenas are a proper method of obtaining bank records under the Right to Financial Privacy Act enacted after Miller. Also, suppression and dismissal aren’t remedies under the Act. United States v. Lundahl, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52211 (D.S.D. … Continue reading
W.D.Mo.: Affiant in fraud case wasn’t required to cite CFRs on background for the defense
Defendant in a fraud offense pled that federal regulators should have been cited in the affidavit for search warrant so the issuing magistrate will appreciate that this might not be a fraud. That’s not the point of a search warrant. … Continue reading
S.D.N.Y.: Franks applies to court orders to remove children from home
In a child in need of services case, a well pled Franks violation can state a claim, but this one wasn’t. Grullon v. Administrator for Children’s Services, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49614 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 16, 2021) (recognizing rule; citing Estiverne … Continue reading
W.D.La.: Motion to suppress SW has to plead and proffer that GFE doesn’t apply
Defendant had a duty to address the good faith exception in his motion and amended motion to suppress a search under a warrant, but he did not. United States v. Lyons, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48780 (W.D. La. Feb. 17, … Continue reading
CT: Defense counsel not ineffective for not calling def as witness at suppression hearing
Defense counsel was not ineffective for not calling defendant to testify at the suppression hearing to avoid potential further admissions of guilt [What about Simmons v. United States and its “immunity”?], and defense counsel was confident standing was shown. Moreover, … Continue reading
OH7: Search incident proper after concealed weapon found on def
Defendant was searched and arrested for a concealed weapon. That did not prohibit the officers from further searching his personal effects in his clothes. State v. Zepernick, 2021-Ohio-719, 2021 Ohio App. LEXIS 724 (7th Dist. Mar. 4, 2021). 2254 petitioner’s … Continue reading
N.D.Ohio: Franks challenge succeeds: no PC of trafficking, stale, and no GFE
Defendant prevails in his Franks challenge. The police withheld that defendant was at worst a suspect in personal use of marijuana, but made it look like he was a trafficker when they had no evidence of it. That means that … Continue reading
