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Feedspot’s Best Legal Blogs and Websites 2023-2026,
also, firm website Top 90 Criminal Law Blogs 2026 -
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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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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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"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: Protective sweep
NC: Where def drove on grass approaching 4A violating checkpoint, there was RS
Because defendant’s stop at a checkpoint was already with reasonable suspicion, the court does not have to decide on the constitutionality of the roadblock [that appears to have caused it]. State v. Alvarez, 2023 N.C. LEXIS 940 (Dec. 15, 2023). … Continue reading
LA3: Cell phone ping to locate def in a shooting investigation was exigent
“In our view, the trial court did not err in finding that exigent circumstances justified the warrantless procurement of Defendant’s cell-site information. Defendant was attempting to flee from the investigation of this violent crime, [and there was a serious risk … Continue reading
WA: Def’s first appearance where bail was set under Gerstein not critical stage requiring counsel because bail could be revisited
Defendant’s first appearance where bail was set under Gerstein was not a critical stage requiring counsel because bail could be revisited. State v. Heng, 2023 Wash. LEXIS 603 (Dec. 7, 2023). “The government contends that [the search] was justified both … Continue reading
N.D.Tex.: Protective sweep of meth lab property was objectively reasonable
The officers’ protective sweep of a property with a working meth lab was objectively reasonable. United States v. Moreno, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 201424 (N.D. Tex. Nov. 9, 2023). Defendant’s cell phone was used during the period the rape victim … Continue reading
WV: State did not justify “officer safety” as reason for entry
The state failed to justify the entry here on officer safety grounds because their neighbor disturbance call included no reference to potential violence or threats and no good reason could be articulated other than “officer safety” which essentially is always … Continue reading
S.D.Ohio: Evidence in plain view may be seized during protective sweep
It was permissible for officers to seize firearms seen in plain view during this protective sweep. United States v. Riley, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 198798 (S.D. Ohio Nov. 6, 2023). “Given the totality of the circumstances and the numerous distinctions … Continue reading
W.D.Ky.: Protective sweep unjustified on facts; rural area not enough
The protective sweep here wasn’t justified by any current facts justifying it. The government first relied on it being a rural area, but that’s rejected because it would render most of the country a zone where protective sweeps could always … Continue reading
N.D.Ala.: 4A does not require gun seen in protective sweep be immediately seized; SW was obtained
If officers saw defendant’s .22 during a protective sweep, the Fourth Amendment doesn’t require that it be seized immediately. It can be seized during execution of the later issued search warrant. A .22 is not a weapon of choice for … Continue reading
S.D.Ill.: Justification for a protective sweep remained despite 10 hour wait outside
Despite officers waiting outside for about ten hours and seeing no movement from inside, a protective sweep was still objectively reasonable on the totality. People were unaccounted for, and there was a gun and drugs seen from outside the door. … Continue reading
E.D.Pa.: Officer’s question about firearms in car made def unreasonably nervous
During a traffic stop, the officer’s question about weapons in the car resulted in defendant’s getting unusually nervous, his breathing completely changing where his chest rose and fell, and he refused to look the officer in the eye. That was … Continue reading
E.D.Wis.: Innocent person whose property was seized can petition in criminal case for return of property
The court finds it has ancillary jurisdiction over a return of property question not directly involved in this case. Petitioner owned it and it was at the place searched and does hold evidence of crime. United States v. Solberg, 2023 … Continue reading
OH10: Officer’s lack of knowledge of Covid extension of licenses was not reasonable mistake under Heien
The officer’s mistake of law in not knowing that an executive order that vehicle licenses expiring during Covid March 9, 2020 to December 1, 2020 remained valid was unreasonable under Heien. Heien requires ambiguity, and this wasn’t. Also, an unreasonable … Continue reading
D.Md.: Surveillance and bodycam video supported officer’s contention def had a firearm in sweatshirt pocket
The court viewed the CCTV and body cam videos (included in the opinion) and it’s apparent defendant had a gun in his sweatshirt pocket. “Not every bulge is a weapon,” but this one apparently was. That justified the frisk. United … Continue reading
NY3: Where no information anyone else could be inside, no justification for protective sweep after def’s arrest
The police had no information even suggesting that another person was in the premises, and a protective sweep after defendant was arrested was unjustified. People v. Hadlock, 2023 NY Slip Op 03819, 2023 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 3839 (3d Dept. … Continue reading
OH12: Protective sweeps didn’t require consent
The protective sweep didn’t require consent. Moreover, the argument wasn’t preserve below. State v. Mott, 2023-Ohio-2268 (12th Dist. July 3, 2023).* Based on the totality, it was objectively reasonable to believe defendant was speeding when the officer decided to stop … Continue reading
NJ: Two-hour delayed SI for forensic evidence on def’s sweatshirt in axe murder case was reasonable
A two-hour delayed search incident of defendant’s sweatshirt for blood and other evidence was reasonable when he was in custody under U.S. v. Edwards (1974, 10 hours) and more compelling probable cause developed he committed an axe murder. Swabbing of … Continue reading