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- CA4: Cell phone non-forensic border search doesn’t require individualized suspicion
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- Vanguard: SF Court Dismisses Felony Charges after Judge Finds Racial Bias Tainted SFPD Stop and Arrest
- OH7: Magistrate signing SW for something outside of territorial jurisdiction not a 4A violation
- OH2: Stop outside the officer’s jurisdiction doesn’t violate 4A
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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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--Electronic Communications Privacy Act (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: Reasonable suspicion
M.D.Fla.: No prejudice for IAC where alleged 4A violation produced nothing for trial
One of defendant’s 2255 claims involved a search of a gun safe that had nothing of evidentiary value in it. It didn’t matter at trial, was a “red herring,” and there could be no prejudice. Belitsky v. United States, 2018 … Continue reading
OR: Def adequately pled 4A and argued substance to preserve issue for appeal
Defendant preserved her Fourth Amendment claim by citing it in the motion and by arguing at the hearing the stop was impermissibly extended. “Although the question is close, we agree with defendant that her Fourth Amendment argument is adequately preserved … Continue reading
W.D.Tex.: Stop for jaywalking in high crime area didn’t provide RS to detain to ask about drugs; removing key fob from pocket was 4A violation
Reasonable suspicion for jaywalking didn’t permit questioning about drugs just because defendant was in a high crime area. The use of defendant’s key fob in his pocket violated the Fourth Amendment, following United States v. Craddock, 841 F.3d 756, 760 … Continue reading
NE: Stopping car leaving house under surveillance for which SW was sought was reasonable just to gather information
Defendant’s car was leaving a house under surveillance as a place where a gun safe was known to have been taken after a burglary to break it open. A search warrant was being sought. The stop was a seizure, but … Continue reading
N.D.Tex.: PV of short-barreled rifle and silencer was valid; incriminating nature immediately apparent
The incriminating nature of a short-barreled rifle and a homemade suppressor was immediately apparent for plain view purposes. United States v. Tidrow, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81807 (N.D. Tex. May 15, 2018). “Prior to the stop of the vehicle, law … Continue reading
NC: Knock-and-talk at side door was unreasonable; the fact def’s friends and occasional buyers went to that door and not obvious front door isn’t an excuse
The police did a knock-and-talk and went to a side door. A knock-and-talk is limited to the door the public goes to. The fact an occasional visitor defendant knew well was permitted to go to another door doesn’t give the … Continue reading
D.D.C.: Content of affidavit for SW suggests start of investigation predated Special Counsel’s appointment
The fact a 22-page affidavit for search warrant was signed before a USMJ ten days after the Special Counsel was appointed suggests that the investigation was going on long before that. The investigation is within the Special Counsel’s purview. United … Continue reading
M.D.Tenn.: SW affidavit didn’t sufficiently show nexus, but not so lacking that GFE didn’t apply
The affidavit for the search warrant here failed to show nexus to defendant’s house under Sixth Circuit precedent. It was sufficient, however, for the good faith exception to apply because the affidavit was not so lacking in information that reliance … Continue reading
NY3: Smell and smoke from working meth lab in garage was exigency
The officer pulled into defendant’s driveway and defendant came out and was really nervous. Smoke was coming out a window in the garage that smelled like a meth cook. There was exigency for entry without a warrant. People v. Alberts, … Continue reading
CA5: Grounds to overcome GFE all have to be raised in the trial ocurt or waived
Defendant raises a ground to attempt to overcome the good faith exception, but he didn’t raise it in the district court, so it’s waived. United States v. Rosa, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 12276 (5th Cir. May 10, 2018). When defendant … Continue reading
VA: Challenge to protective sweep is not a PC challenge, so PC challenged waived for appeal
Defendant’s search challenge was to a protective sweep, but not to the probable cause for the search warrant. That was a waiver of the probable cause issue. Commonwealth v. Smith, 2018 Va. App. LEXIS 115 (May 1, 2018); Commonwealth v. … Continue reading
Big Think: Predictive policing: Data can be used to prevent crime, but is that data racially tinged?
Big Think: Predictive policing: Data can be used to prevent crime, but is that data racially tinged? by Eric Siegel:
M.D.Tenn.: While def’s search under “all persons” clause of SW was unreasonable, he was still subject to Terry detenion
A search of defendant under an “all persons” clause in a warrant was unreasonable. Still, however, the officers had reasonable suspicion to detain him. His admission then was that he had a gun, and that led to a frisk. “Giving … Continue reading
MO: Def’s overly nervous behavior, feigning sleep, hiding something, and admission he had a weapon was certainly RS
“The evidence supported a reasonable and particularized suspicion that Defendant was armed, based upon the following behavior exhibited by Defendant: (1) feigning to be asleep; (2) numerous false statements to police; (3) overly nervous demeanor and sweating; (4) flight-like behavior; … Continue reading
techdirt: Appeals Court: Driving Attentively While Black Isn’t Probable Cause For A Traffic Stop
techdirt: Appeals Court: Driving Attentively While Black Isn’t Probable Cause For A Traffic Stop by Tim Cushing:
The Verge: A pioneer in predictive policing is starting a troubling new project
The Verge: A pioneer in predictive policing is starting a troubling new project By Ali Winston and Ingrid Burrington:
OH6: Challenge to credibility of one witness at suppression hearing wasn’t the PC challenge made on appeal
A challenge in the trial court that one of the officers wasn’t credible isn’t the same argument as there being a failure of probable cause. Therefore, the probable cause issue hasn’t been preserved. State v. Gibbs, 2018-Ohio-1549, 2018 Ohio App. … Continue reading
OH9: “Counsel’s decision not to pursue every possible angle [in a suppression motion] is not ineffective assistance.”
“Counsel’s decision not to pursue every possible angle [in a suppression motion] is not ineffective assistance.” State v. Palmer, 2018-Ohio-1486, 2018 Ohio App. LEXIS 1631 (9th Dist. Apr. 18, 2018). Defendant’s swerving vehicle and trailer provided reasonable suspicion for a … Continue reading
D.N.M.: RS can start as one thing and become something else
An officer on regular patrol saw defendant peering in a church window when there were no services. The officer stopped to inquire and defendant’s activity turned to suspicious for possessing a weapon. Reasonable suspicion can shift from one thing to … Continue reading
N.D.Tex.: RS came from “extreme nervousness, conflicting stories, and the fact that he was traveling along a drug trafficking corridor”
“The government proved by a preponderance of the evidence that Trooper Styles developed reasonable suspicion of additional criminal activity during the initial stop and before Roberts consented to Trooper Styles’s request to search the Jeep. The facts of this case … Continue reading