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- D.Utah: Minor detours to writing up a traffic ticket didn’t unreasonably extend this stop; the dog was quickly on its way
- KY: Despite lack of nexus, SW sustained under GFE
- CO: DNA could be seized from trash
- CA8: Nebraska statute allowing SWs to cross state lines doesn’t violate 4A
- WA: Sweat patch as condition of release violated state constitution’s privacy provision
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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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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)
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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: Ineffective assistance
CA4: Two address typos in affidavit for SW along with correct address twice and correct address in SW not error
There were two address typos in the affidavit, but it was in there correct twice, too. The warrant was correct. The search was reasonable. “In these circumstances, the technical errors in the search warrant affidavit did not invalidate the warrant … Continue reading
CA6: Dodging the question when asked about a weapon during an investigative detention added to RS
Defendant allegedly had a motive to be violent, and, when officers asked him about whether he was armed, he dodged the question. The evidence supports the district court’s conclusion that there was reasonable suspicion for the intrusion. United States v. … Continue reading
CA6: There was already RS to detain the occupants of the car when def fled from it
“In total, we find that there was reasonable suspicion to block the white Saturn into the driveway. Taking together the smell of marijuana in an area known for drug violations, the person leaning into the car, and the car’s backing … Continue reading
E.D.N.C.: Defendant doesn’t get additional discovery in his quest to get a Franks hearing
Defendant doesn’t get additional discovery in his quest to get a Franks hearing. He has the burden of going forward and of proof. And, even if what he says is true, the probable cause isn’t sufficiently undermined. United States v. … Continue reading
E.D.Pa.: Def could be transported to precinct for lineup on RS alone
Defendant was handcuffed as a part of his stop for officer safety and to secure the scene. They could also put him in a police car handcuffed. Finally, transporting him to the precinct for a lineup wasn’t an unreasonable seizure … Continue reading
2255: Can’t keep reraising 4A claim you’ve already lost on
2255 petitioner already lost on his CSLI issue in the direct proceedings, and he doesn’t get to relitigate it now. Figueroa v. United States, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 206123 (S.D. N.Y. Nov. 26, 2019).* Petitioner raised his Fourth Amendment issues … Continue reading
CT: Def counsel’s choice to distance def from bedroom with drug was reasonable
Defendant argued defense counsel was ineffective for not pursuing a motion to suppress the search of a bedroom he stayed in in the house of another. The testimony was conflicting. Defendant said that he had exclusive use of the bedroom, … Continue reading
W.D.N.C.: Guilty plea waived 4A IAC claim
“The knowing and voluntary guilty plea waived all alleged ineffective assistance of counsel which preceded it, including counsel’s alleged deficiencies with regards to Fourth Amendment issues.” Allen v. United States, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 205762 (W.D. N.C. Nov. 26, 2019). … Continue reading
TN: Def can’t show prejudice for IAC claim for failing to call a witness he can’t identify or summarize testimony of
Defendant filed a post-conviction petition alleging that a necessary witness hadn’t been called for the suppression hearing. He could not, however, provide any decent information about name, where she could be found, what she would say, or that it would … Continue reading
D.S.D.: Def’s claim at arrest that he was confused about the age of the person he was meeting was a trial question, not a PC question
There was probable cause for defendant’s arrest for attempted sex trafficking a minor. He said during his post-arrest interview that he was confused by the internet ad that he was responding to, but that doesn’t undermine probable cause. United States … Continue reading
D.D.C.: When serving SW in sex assault investigation where def was known to be a felon, a Glock speed loader in plain view permitted search for a gun
D.C. Metro police had a search warrant for evidence of a sexual assault. When they entered, they saw a Glock magazine speed loader. That caused them to search for a firearm because they knew defendant was a felon learning, that … Continue reading
D.N.M.: No 4A requirement police call for someone to retrieve car to avoid inventory
The inventory of defendant’s car was reasonable and followed policy. “The problem with Defendant’s argument is that he advanced no legal authority that the Fourth Amendment requires police to execute an arrest warrant on a suspect in a way that … Continue reading
Four 2255s
2255 claim that officer perjured himself during suppression hearing was already raised there and on appeal and barred here. United States v. Brown, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 201044 (D. Nev. Nov. 19, 2019).* Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not pursuing … Continue reading
N.D.Iowa: A “Brinks box” in the house being searched with a warrant for drugs was subject to the search
A “Brinks box” in the house being searched with a warrant for drugs was subject to the search. United States v. Simmermaker, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 199422 (N.D. Iowa Oct. 25, 2019), adopted, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 198379 (N.D. Iowa … Continue reading
PA: Birchfield not retroactive on post-conviction
Birchfield is not a new rule for post-conviction purposes and thus not retroactive. Commonwealth v. Olson, 2019 Pa. LEXIS 6120 (Oct. 31, 2019). Defendant was involved in an ATV accident and hospitalized. The state wanted BAC, but he wasn’t available. … Continue reading
OH8: Realtime CSLI was used only to locate def; nothing to suppress
Defendant was called by the police for an interview about a child molestation accusation, and he agreed to meet. He didn’t show. Then the police were concerned maybe he was fleeing and they sought realtime CSLI to locate him. “We … Continue reading
IL: Def’s leaving house to deliver to a controlled buy was nexus for house
There was nexus for the search warrant for defendant’s house where he was alleged to have left his house and driven directly to the scene of a controlled buy where he was delivering. People v. Teague, 2019 IL App (3d) … Continue reading
NY2: Where SW was issued to a small town PD, using officers from other agencies to assist in raid doesn’t violate 4A
The small town police department that obtained the search warrant did not have its own entry team for safety. Using officers from other county and state agencies to assist didn’t violate the warrant. People v. Ward, 2019 NY Slip Op … Continue reading
E.D.Ky.: Paraphrasing def’s jail calls on hearsay without affiant actually listening to them isn’t a Franks violation
A full forensic search of defendant’s cell phone was authorized by the affidavit which was attached to the search warrant. There were admissions from the defendant on jail calls to others that were reported to the police. The paraphrasing the … Continue reading