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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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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)
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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)
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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: Franks doctrine
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
CA6: Def doesn’t show arrest was delayed to facilitate better protective sweep
The protective sweep finding defendant’s guns on execution of his arrest warrant was reasonable. Defendant does not show that the officers intentionally delayed his arrest with the purpose of exploiting a protective sweep. United States v. Cammon, 2021 U.S. App. … Continue reading
E.D.Pa.: Just because defense counsel finds an omitted fact interesting doesn’t make it “material”; not all facts need be included
The 121 page affidavit for search warrant for evidence of drug trafficking was neither stale nor lacked nexus. Defendant’s Franks challenge also fails for lack of a substantial preliminary showing. United States v. Briggs, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44653 (E.D. … Continue reading
WY: Mere citation to state constitution without cogent argument for different treatment is waiver
Citation alone to the state constitution’s search and seizure without cogent argument for differentiating Fourth Amendment cases is waiver. The totality of information before the officer in the traffic stop justified it. Elmore v. State, 2021 Wyo. LEXIS 48 (Mar. … Continue reading