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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 -
© 2003-25,
online since Feb. 24, 2003 Approx. 500,000 visits (non-robot) since 2012 Approx. 47,000 posts since 2003 (30,000+ on WordPress as of 12/31/24) -
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Fourth Amendment cases,
citations, and links -
Latest Slip Opinions:
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Foreign Intell.Surv.Ct.
FDsys, many district courts, other federal courts
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State courts (and some USDC opinions)
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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
Research Links:
Supreme Court:
SCOTUSBlog
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Solicitor General's site
SCOTUSreport
Briefs online (but no amicus briefs)
Oyez Project (NWU)
"On the Docket"–Medill
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S.Ct. Com't'ry: Law.com
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General (many free):
LexisWeb
Google Scholar | Google
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Lexis.com $
Lexis.com (criminal law/ 4th Amd) $
Findlaw.com
Findlaw.com (4th Amd)
Westlaw.com $
F.R.Crim.P. 41
www.fd.org
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)
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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
Privacy Foundation
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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 -
"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] -
“You know, most men would get discouraged by now. Fortunately for you, I am not most men!”
---Pepé Le Pew -
"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, Little Rock 
Category Archives: Ineffective assistance
ID: Not unreasonable to check wants and warrants on passenger during a traffic stop
“This appeal arises out of a traffic stop where a single officer, without having reasonable suspicion that a crime involving the passenger was afoot, checked the passenger for outstanding warrants. The officer used her patrol vehicle’s computer and received a … Continue reading
RI: Commercial fishing is a “closely regulated industry” and a vessel’s monitoring system could be examined
Commercial fishing is a closely regulated industry. “Appellant also had a sea scallop permit, requiring the vessel to have a vessel monitoring system (VMS), which transmits global positioning system (GPS) coordinates every half hour to the National Marine Fisheries Service.” … Continue reading
D.Minn.: Tracking warrant issued without PC, but GFE still applied
There was no probable cause for the tracking warrant for defendant. But, it was not so lacking in probable cause that the good faith exception does not apply. United States v. Escudero, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89120 (D.Minn. May 18, … Continue reading
UT: IAC shown for not challenging dog alert
The initial dog alert here did not provide probable cause for search of defendant’s vehicle. Thus, defense counsel was ineffective for not pursuing a Fourth Amendment challenge. “In summary, based on the record before us, a motion to suppress the … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: Pro forma objection to R&R doesn’t articulate argument, so it’s waived
Defendant didn’t fairly articulate his objections to the R&R, so his objection is waived. United States v. Hill, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83707 (N.D.Ga. May 9, 2022). There was probable cause for this search authorization, and the good faith exception … Continue reading
CA11: Def’s innocent explanation for his behavior still left PC
Defendant’s innocent explanation for his behavior still left probable cause. United States v. Clark, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 11504 (11th Cir. Apr. 28, 2022). Defendant was arrested two weeks after a string of robberies, and his cell phone was taken … Continue reading
NY Kings Co.: “There is no Fourth Amendment principle that forbids a police officer from being pleased at having found an illegal weapon”
“Set against the obvious reality that a well-documented full and proper inventory was carried out here, I do not find the mere fact that after spotting the gun at the outset, Officer Duran exclaimed, ‘that was easy,’ and ‘Now it’s … Continue reading
D.Mont.: Acting strange walking down the street is not RS
“While Vasquez was indeed acting strangely, for the stop to be valid, his conduct must be indicative of criminal behavior. The Court here simply cannot bridge the connection between the conduct here that is suspicious or odd in the lay … Continue reading
E.D.N.C.: Violation of state SW statutes and rules not a 4A violation
Violation of state statutes or rules in issuing search warrants is not a Fourth Amendment issue. And, nexus was shown: “So interpreting the affidavit, and based on the totality of the circumstances including the role cell phones generally play in … Continue reading
E.D.Ark.: City’s court order made clean up and removal of ptf’s property reasonable
Plaintiff was told for years to clean up his property from unsightly construction materials and equipment. After many failed efforts to get him to do so, the city obtained a court order to remove the property. It removed nine trailerloads … Continue reading
CA10: Def’s actions were completely consistent with innocence and did not add up to RS
The officer did not have reasonable suspicion for defendant’s stop or its continuation. Defendant’s actions were consistent with somebody who had nothing to hide, and the district court’s findings got no presumption of correctness. Denial of the suppression motion reversed. … Continue reading
CA7: Younger and immunity bar ptf’s § 1983 claim against search
Plaintiff’s claims that the parties conspired to falsify evidence of this search against him, aside from being fantastical, was barred by Younger and qualified or absolute immunity for all the parties. Shaw v. Cnty. of Milwaukee, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS … Continue reading
E.D.N.Y.: Visual surveillance of a car in a parking lot is not a search; no REP in the license plate
Visual surveillance of plaintiff’s car in a parking lot is not a search. “Mr. Porter alleges that Investigator Tucci committed an unreasonable search by conducting surveillance of his vehicle in a parking lot and by looking up his plate and … Continue reading
TX: Affidavit incorporated in SW had specific description and saves SW from overbreadth argument
“The issue before us is whether the particularity requirement of the Fourth Amendment is satisfied if a warrant describes the place to be searched as a fraternity house as a whole without specifying a suspect’s actual room in the house, … Continue reading
D.Ariz.: To overcome Stone bar, pet’r has to proffer something about being denied “full and fair opportunity” to litigate 4A claim
To overcome Stone in a 2254, the petitioner has to proffer that he was denied a full and fair opportunity to litigate his Fourth Amendment claim. Failure to do so is fatal to claim. Bartels v. Arizona, 2022 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
E.D.Tenn.: Def doesn’t show a right to see whether the SW in his case was validly issued; that’s the lawyer’s call; and he pled guilty
“Petitioner alleges that Attorney Greene failed to present critical documents for Petitioner’s review prior to his guilty plea. Petitioner contends that he should have been shown ‘evidence of there being a valid search warrant,’ ‘computer chat logs where the government … Continue reading
CA2: Swearing to arrest warrant at direction of a prosecutor does not confer prosecutorial immunity
“Long-standing precedent makes clear that swearing to an arrest warrant affidavit and executing an arrest are traditional police functions, and performing such functions at the direction of a prosecutor does not transform them into prosecutorial acts protected by absolute immunity.” … Continue reading
W.D.Ky.: Non-answers to questions added to RS
There was reasonable suspicion here from the officer’s observations and defendant’s non-answers to questions. United States v. Dunn, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41610 (W.D.Ky. Mar. 9, 2022).* Not filing a motion to suppress here was not ineffective assistance. Defendant was … Continue reading
NY Kings: 911 call 6 dogs in Manhattan apt were uncared for not exigency for warrantless entry
“Upon a review of the record, we find that the evidence adduced at the hearing did not establish the existence of facts sufficient to provide the police officer with reasonable grounds to believe that an emergency existed which required the … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: Officers can enter a bathroom for a protective sweep
The protective sweep of the bathroom was justified and defendant’s claim the officers didn’t need to enter the bathroom to look is rejected. United States v. Perez, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26275 (N.D.Ga. Feb. 15, 2022). Plaintiff inmate’s claim that … Continue reading