Archives
-
Recent Posts
- D.Utah: Minor time detours to writing up a traffic ticket didn’t unreasonable 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
-
-
ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2015-17) (then discontinued)
-
-
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) -
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fourth Amendment cases, citations, and links -
Latest Slip Opinions:
U.S. Supreme Court (Home)
S.Ct. Shadow Docket Database
Federal Appellate Courts Opinions
First Circuit
Second Circuit
Third Circuit
Fourth Circuit
Fifth Circuit
Sixth Circuit
Seventh Circuit
Eighth Circuit
Ninth Circuit
Tenth Circuit
Eleventh Circuit
D.C. Circuit
Federal Circuit
Foreign Intell.Surv.Ct.
FDsys, many district courts, other federal courts
Military Courts: C.A.A.F., Army, AF, N-M, CG, SF
State courts (and some USDC opinions)
Google Scholar
Advanced Google Scholar
Google search tips
LexisWeb
LII State Appellate Courts
LexisONE free caselaw
Findlaw Free Opinions
To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
Research Links:
Supreme Court:
SCOTUSBlog
S. Ct. Docket
Solicitor General's site
SCOTUSreport
Briefs online (but no amicus briefs)
Oyez Project (NWU)
"On the Docket"–Medill
S.Ct. Monitor: Law.com
S.Ct. Com't'ry: Law.com
-
General (many free):
LexisWeb
Google Scholar | Google
LexisOne Legal Website Directory
Crimelynx
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)
-
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
Electronic Frontier Foundation
NACDL’s Domestic Drone Information Center
Electronic Privacy Information Center
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] -
“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
D.Nev.: Motion to join motion to suppress requires showing standing, too
This defendant moved to join the motion to suppress the search of a codefendant, but “Santilli’s Motion for Joinder does not provide any details about how McGuire’s Objection applies to a search or seizure of Santilli’s property or an invasion … Continue reading
NY2: Morning eviction led to trespassing claim in afternoon, and police entry was valid; no REP after eviction
All the occupants of an apartment were evicted in the morning. Stragglers didn’t vacate. The building manager reported trespassers to the police and they came and entered. They found eight guns in defendant’s possession. Because of the eviction, nobody had … Continue reading
DE: Def’s crossing the unmarked center of a highway for a couple of seconds wasn’t RS
“Here, Trooper Freeman testified that ‘the only basis for the stop’ was that Defendant veered into the left lane on a roadway that did not have solid lines. Speed was not a factor. Absent any testimony or video evidence concerning … Continue reading
FL4: Exigency required finding def’s cell phone to locate a school bus stop shooter
Exigent circumstances in finding a shooter at a school bus stop necessitated the officers pinging the cell phone to locate the shooter. Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not challenging the search because it would have failed. Barton v. State, 2018 … Continue reading
OH5: Meeting drug buyer, going home, returning to the place of sale was nexus to house
Defendant met a drug buyer, drove to his house, and reunited with the buyer for the transaction. This gives sufficient probable cause for nexus to house. State v. Detamore, 2018-Ohio-297, 2018 Ohio App. LEXIS 274 (5th Dist. Jan. 25, 2018). … Continue reading
D.N.M.: Govt’s failure to argue validity of scope of protective sweep before USMJ waived it
The government didn’t raise validity of the scope of the full protective sweep before the USMJ and waived it after the R&R. United States v. Salazar, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10212 (D. N.M. Jan. 23, 2018). Defendant’s cell phone search … Continue reading
E.D.Mo.: Claim that Franks applies because the CI must have been paid and it was omitted is insufficient as speculative
“In his motion to suppress, Davison did not identify any false information included in the affidavit. Rather, Davison alleged only that he believed the CI could have been paid for information and that fact had been omitted from the affidavit. … Continue reading
D.Conn.: 2255 isn’t the remedy for return of property; it’s Rule 41(g)
Defense counsel isn’t ineffective for not appealing a conviction when the only real remedy he seeks is for return of property which would be by a Rule 41(g) motion which hasn’t been filed. Dismissed without prejudice. Green v. United States, … Continue reading
D. Md.: Def’s 2255 supplemental Franks challenge has a failure of a proffer of evidence
Defendant had a Franks challenge and lost. One 2255 claim is that if defense counsel investigated more, it would have been a better Franks motion, but he fails to state what else would have been found to make it better. … Continue reading
D.N.M.: Inventory was reasonable on the totality, so officers’ actual intent doesn’t matter
Defendant was arrested at someone else’s home, and he had a bag. The homeowner wouldn’t take responsibility for the bag, so it went with defendant, and its inventory was reasonable on the totality. “Thus, whether or not the Officers’ testimony … Continue reading
CA11: Mistake in apt number in SW wasn’t fatal flaw because of “rich detail” describing the apt door
The search warrant had the wrong apartment number, but the location of the apartment was described in “rich detail,” including that the door had numerous stickers. Therefore, defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not challenging the search warrant. United States v. … Continue reading
N.D.Iowa: There is no constitutional difference between a drug dog’s “alert” and “indication”
There is no constitutional difference between a drug dog’s “alert” and “indication.” The dog’s actions and what it means to the handler are just a factor in probable cause to search. United States v. Herbst, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6516 … Continue reading
W.D.N.C.: Def doesn’t have standing in a rental car, and the court is bound by existing authority
“According to the defendant’s motion, he was using the rental car with permission from its authorized driver. (Doc. No. 16: Motion at 1). However, he has not alleged that he was listed as an authorized driver on the rental agreement … Continue reading
OH2: Not clearly erroneous for court to rely on dashcam over officer’s testimony re stop
The trial court could rely on the dashcam video over the officer’s testimony where there was an apparent contradiction. State v. Wilson, 2017-Ohio-9317, 2017 Ohio App. LEXIS 5816 (2d Dist. Dec. 29, 2017). Defendant’s stop was based on reasonable suspicion … Continue reading
KS declines to decide whether odor of MJ on the person is PC because here there was more than just that
Defendant didn’t dim headlights and officers stopped the car suspecting inattentive driving. The smell of marijuana coming from the car was obvious. “We decline the State’s offer to embark on a new legal proposition that would allow Kansas law enforcement … Continue reading
LA: Def’s phone records were obtained by valid court order so defense counsel couldn’t be ineffective for not challenging it
Defendant’s phone records were obtained by court order. Therefore, his counsel wasn’t ineffective for not challenging the state’s obtaining them. State v. Pram, 2017 La. LEXIS 2958 (Dec. 15, 2017). Defendant first lied about his name, but an officer there … Continue reading
DE: SW materials reviewed on PCR to find no motion to suppress would be granted
Defendant was charged with rape of his daughter occurring daily for years. Defense counsel saw no reason to file a motion to suppress the search warrants for the house for the vibrator the victim described was used on her. Reviewing … Continue reading
E.D.Wis.: Furtive movement toward car during stop justified protective frisk of car
Defendant’s furtive movements toward his car and his agitated state justified a protective frisk of the car. United States v. Vaccaro, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 205804 (E.D. Wis. Sept. 18, 2017), adopted, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 204625 (E.D. Wis. Dec. … Continue reading
WA: Def counsel likely ineffective for not moving to suppress seizure of attorney-client materials from jail cell
Defendant showed potential for prejudice for defense counsel’s failure to file a motion to dismiss a jail search that recovered materials the defendant was preparing for defense counsel and thus protected by attorney-client privilege. Remanded for a hearing. In re … Continue reading