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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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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: Franks doctrine
E.D.Wis.: “the issue is not whether the affiant omitted information the issuing judge may have found relevant; rather, the focus is on the affiant’s state of mind.”
“As indicated, however, the issue is not whether the affiant omitted information the issuing judge may have found relevant; rather, the focus is on the affiant’s state of mind. United States v. Jones, 208 F.3d 603, 607 (7th Cir. 2000). … Continue reading
OR: A question to a fidgety driver about weapons in the car didn’t unreasonably prolong the stop
Defendant was pulled over after passing a parked police car three times, and the officer seeing the tags were expired on the third pass. When defendant was pulled over, he was unusually fidgety. A question about weapons in the car … Continue reading
CA5: Franks doesn’t neatly apply to § 1983 because the question there is just probable cause
Plaintiff was arrested for capital murder based on an affidavit for arrest that omitted serious doubts about the eyewitness’s identification. Later, the charge was dropped, and plaintiff sued the affiant for a “civil Franks violation.” Franks doesn’t neatly apply in … Continue reading
CA6: One prior excessive force claim isn’t pattern and practice in a § 1983 case
One other excessive force claim investigated by the City is not evidence of pattern and practice or failure to train. Stewart v. City of Memphis, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 30491 (6th Cir. Oct. 11, 2019).* Defendant’s successor 2255 also raises … Continue reading
NJ: Def made showing for additional discovery to make Franks challenge
Defendant sought additional discovery to be able to pursue a Franks challenge, and it was denied, and that was error. “In sum, because defendant was not able to investigate anything in the detective’s affidavit by obtaining routine discovery that should … Continue reading
Two on Franks on post-conviction failing for no proper showing
Defendant on 2255 can’t show that defense counsel was ineffective for not filing a Franks challenge. He can’t make either a “substantial preliminary showing” or show prejudice because it would fail on the merits if made. Vanderbeck v. United States, … Continue reading
D.N.M.: It’s not a Franks violation to fail to mention any deals with the CI; it’s assumed
“Second, as to Mr. Ramos-Castillo’s argument that Agent Godier omitted material information by failing to include law enforcement’s numerous promises to Mr. Salazar, the Court finds that the failure to explicitly include this information does not amount to material omission … Continue reading
N.D.Fla.: Unsupported allegation state judge signing SW was “under investigation” doesn’t warrant dismissal of indictment
Defendant’s unsupported claim that the state judge who signed off on his search warrant that led to a federal indictment was under some unspecified investigation doesn’t warrant dismissal of the indictment. United States v. Hamda, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 163199 … Continue reading
D.D.C.: Roger Stone’s Franks challenge to 18 SWs “completely failed” for lack of govt falsity or materiality
Defendant’s challenge to 18 search warrants for Franks violations fails for not showing what was false provided by the affiant and for lack of materiality to the finding of probable cause. The failures of the source documents, if any, aren’t … Continue reading
W.D.N.Y.: The fact a SW affidavit for guns also suggests drugs doesn’t make a Franks issue; a SW can have a dual purpose but rely more heavily on one
Defendant fails to satisfy his Franks burden that the affidavit for the search warrant was intended to be misleading. The affidavit was for trafficking in firearms, but a CI’s statement also references drugs. Defendant’s conclusory allegations don’t satisfy the “substantial … Continue reading
FL5: Def made prima facie case that counsel’s abandoned search claim could have won; reversed
Defendant made a prima facie case at his post-conviction hearing. The evidence presented at the evidentiary hearing showed there was a reasonable probability that the motion to suppress would have been granted if pursued, and the evidence the State needed … Continue reading
WV Gazette: Officers found his $25K of heroin. He walked free, and now he’s suing police [for raiding the wrong house]
WV Gazette: Officers found his $25K of heroin. He walked free, and now he’s suing police by Jake Zuckerman. Police raided a house after falsely stating that one Figueroa lived there and made several drug deals. It was the wrong … Continue reading
D.N.M.: Search and seizure claim against USSG enhancement doesn’t have to be decided; it applies another way
Defendant sort of raised a search claim as attacking a USSG enhancement, but the court finds that the enhancement applies no matter what. Martinez v. United States, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 154693 (D. N.M. Sept. 11, 2019).* Defendant’s unconstitutional arrest … Continue reading
GA: Police were reasonable in stopping def because he looked like the guy wanted in an arrest warrant although it turned out he wasn’t the guy
Officers could approach defendant to talk to him because he generally fit the description and location of a person named in an arrest warrant. It turned out that he wasn’t the guy, but it doesn’t make it unreasonable to stop … Continue reading
OH8: Misstating the owner of a cell phone in warrant application was not material when it was seized as part of a burglary conspiracy
A burglar alarm in an industrial area at 1 am brought the police who saw men scattering, and one vehicle leaving. There was reasonable suspicion for stopping the vehicle. The search warrant for a cell phone was proper because it … Continue reading
MO: Search incident of item taken off def’s person could happen 30 min after arrest
Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not moving to suppress the search of a cigarette pack removed from defendant’s person at the time of his arrest but searched 30 minutes later. It was still subject to the search incident doctrine. Greene … Continue reading
W.D.N.C.: Omitted facts for Franks purposes are intentional in one sense, but not presumably intentionally misleading
Omitted facts for Franks purposes are intentional in one sense, but not presumably intentionally misleading. Not every thing the affiant knows makes it in there. Also, citizen informant’s statement defendant was seen with a gun five weeks before the search … Continue reading
D.Mont.: USMs have power to arrest state fugitives, so search incident valid
USM’s fugitive task force has the power to arrest state offenders by federal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 564, and the AG can delegate them whenever to assist in arresting state fugitives. 34 U.S.C. §§ 41503-04. Therefore, they were authorized to … Continue reading
CA9: Detaining juveniles five hours after PC dissipated was unreasonable and contrary to well-established law
“It is well-established that a ‘person may not be arrested, or must be released from arrest, if previously established probable cause has dissipated.’ United States v. Ortiz-Hernandez, 427 F.3d 567, 574 (9th Cir. 2005) (per curiam). ‘As a corollary … … Continue reading
CA6: Mere negligent inclusion of information in SW affidavit doesn’t overcome QI for civil Franks claim
Mere negligence in an alleged false statement in a search warrant affidavit isn’t enough to overcome qualified immunity for a civil Franks claim. Butler v. City of Detroit, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 25062 (6th Cir. Aug. 22, 2019):