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ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2017); ABA Journal Blawg 100 (2015-16) (discontinued 2018)
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© 2003-23,
online since Feb. 24, 2003 Approx. 350,000 visits (non-robot) since 2012 Approx. 45,000 posts since 2003 (25,700+ on WordPress as of 12/31/22)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fourth Amendment cases,
citations, and linksLatest Slip Opinions:
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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $Research Links:
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Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Resources
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (2008) (pdf)
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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
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Section 1983 Blog"If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. It isn't, and they don't."
—Me“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"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!”
"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."
---Pepé Le Pew
—Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 13-14 (1948)
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Category Archives: Consent
CA11: Drug dog arriving before warning ticket done did not extend stop
Where the drug dog arrived before the warning ticket was finished, the stop was not unlawfully extended. United States v. Gutierrez, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 12811 (11th Cir. May 24, 2023). Child protection officers obtained consent to enter plaintiff’s home. … Continue reading →
CA11: Without a factual dispute, there’s no requirement of a suppression hearing
The suppression “hearing” was a five-minute discussion of the law, and there were no factual disputes presented. Therefore, “defendant need not be present for any ‘conference or hearing on a question of law.’ Fed. R. Crim. P. 43(b)(3).” United States … Continue reading →
W.D.Pa.: Lack of a proper chain of custody is not a ground for a motion to suppress
Alleged lack of a proper chain of custody is not a ground for a motion to suppress. United States v. Pollard, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88536 (W.D. Pa. May 19, 2023). Defendant’s Fourth Amendment issues on appeal are not the … Continue reading →
NY Albany Co.: Overbroad location data search remedied by narrowing to two hours
The search warrant for defendant’s location data for the week before and week after the crime was overbroad. The court instead allows the state to use the hour before and hour after. People v. Williams, 2023 NY Slip Op 23137, … Continue reading →
W.D.Mich.: Prison CAT scan for contraband was reasonable
A prison CAT scan for contraband was less intrusive than a strip or body cavity search, so it was reasonable. Pouncy v. Bush, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78217 (W.D. Mich. May 4, 2023). Reasonable suspicion for a traffic violation to … Continue reading →
NJ: Common authority to search a storage unit doesn’t necessarily include authority to search bags within
After a search warrant produced nothing, the domestic battery complainant had common authority to consent to a search of a storage trailer to seize weapons, but not to search the bags that the weapons were found in. “A third party’s … Continue reading →
D.Kan.: “Indicia of ownership” in a SW not overbroad
Inclusion of “indicia of ownership” of the place searched doesn’t show the warrant was not particular. United States v. Anderson, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73033 (D. Kan. Apr. 26, 2023). Defendant was stopped for a traffic violation, although there was … Continue reading →
D.Nev.: GFE does not save GPS tracking of additional driver of vehicle
Rubin, a regular driver of defendant’s pickup had standing to challenge a tracking warrant put on it. The issuing judge, however, appears only to have authorized the tracking of Morgan’s use. The court declines to apply the good faith exception. … Continue reading →
CA7: Renting a condo under an assumed name to avoid arrest doesn’t show no REP; landlord could not consent
Defendant rented a condo in Atlanta, deceiving the landlord by using an assumed name. The landlord consented to a search. The landlord had no power to consent to a search. People rent hotel rooms and apartments and even buy houses … Continue reading →
FL2: Def’s mental health seizure was unreasonable under state law; his search incident thus was unreasonable
Defendant’s mental health seizure didn’t comply with state law and was unreasonable. There was no face-to-face meeting to evaluate his condition required by law. His girlfriend had reported that he was sending suicidal text messages. K.M. v. State, 2023 Fla. … Continue reading →
Cal.2: Geofence warrant was a bit overbroad, but GFE still applies
A geofence warrant was sought in 2019 for Google which provided several subject phones in the vicinity of a murder. The court finds the warrant was not particular enough, but applies the good faith exception because geofence warrants were so … Continue reading →
Cal.4: Misdemeanants stated claim that DNA testing of them was a violation of state right of privacy
Plaintiffs stated a claim that the Orange County program for collection of DNA from misdemeanants violated their right to privacy. There may be instances were a misdemeanor may be a “serious crime” but in general, no. The trial court erred … Continue reading →
VA: Smell of MJ from one person in car is PC to that person only
When the smell of marijuana is localized to one person, that’s the extent of the probable cause. If from the car, it’s the car. King v. Commonwealth, 2023 Va. App. LEXIS 213 (Apr. 4, 2023) (unpublished). The video showed that … Continue reading →
E.D.Mich.: 13 day delay between trash pull and SW didn’t mean it was stale because case was actively investigated
A 13 day delay between a trash pull and a search warrant didn’t make the trash pull stale. There was an ongoing investigation throughout. United States v. Dobbs, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52882 (E.D. Mich. Mar. 28, 2023). District court’s … Continue reading →
OH3: Threat to get a SW didn’t coerce consent where there was PC for one
Defendant was alleged to have consented to a blood draw in a DUI case. When he hesitated, the officer said that he’d get a search warrant if defendant didn’t go through with it. There’s a difference between the officer saying … Continue reading →
CA6: Even if harassment was a basis to exclude a parole search, it wasn’t shown here
The exclusionary rule does not apply in supervised release revocation proceedings. Even if harassment by the officer was a basis to exclude, it wasn’t present here. United States v. Robinson, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 6756 (6th Cir. Mar. 21, 2023)* … Continue reading →
D.Kan.: Not responding to govt’s 4A alternative arguments de facto waiver
The government’s alterative theories to support the search were sufficient to avoid even deciding a good faith mistake of fact by the officers. Moreover, defendant never addressed the government’s alternative arguments in his briefing. United States v. Bell-Johnson, 2023 U.S. … Continue reading →
HI: Miranda warnings required whenever PC develops for arrest
“Miranda warnings are required by article I, section 10 of the Constitution of the State of Hawai’i when probable cause to arrest has developed. And in Hewitt’s case, contrary to the ICA’s conclusion, probable cause had developed before she was … Continue reading →
OH1: Defense counsel ineffective for not challenging state’s alleged consent after they announced “we’re going to be doing a search warrant here”
“The totality of the circumstances show that the signed consent-to-search form was not a product of consent, but an acquiescence to a claim of lawful authority.” “As Gaston complied with Davis’s instructions to sit in a chair on the porch, … Continue reading →
E.D.Tex.: Criminal trespass warning is not a 4A seizure
A criminal trespass warning is not a Fourth Amendment seizure. Shaikh v. Allen City Council, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43571 (E.D. Tex. Feb. 8, 2023),* adopted, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42228 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 13, 2023).* A DEA stop of … Continue reading →
