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- CA7: Administrative inspection stop of truck without RS was pretext for drug search
- LA5: Nervousness and avoiding getting on airplane to LAX (a source city) was RS
- D.D.C.: A cell phone SW without PC in a felon in possession case is a general warrant because of its intrusiveness
- N.D.Ga.: 2020 election materials GJ subpoena quashed as burdensome
- SCOTUSBlog: Justice Jackson reignites the interpretation wars, adding to textualism’s emerging cracks
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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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Congressional Research Service:
--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
TN: Failure to allege what should have been suppressed defeats IAC claim
Failure to allege what should have been suppressed if a motion to suppress had been filed is fatal to an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. Coyne v. State, 2026 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 104 (Mar. 3, 2026). Qualified immunity denied: … Continue reading
CA10: RS didn’t dissipate during wait for drug dog
Reasonable suspicion here once developed didn’t dissipate before the 20-30 minute wait for the drug dog. United States v. Labs, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 5789 (10th Cir. Feb. 27, 2026). By statute, “[t]he evidence admissible for meeting the State’s burden … Continue reading
IL: Probationer’s ankle monitor search put him at scene of murder
A codefendant was on probation, and a search warrant was used to get information from his ankle monitor. That put him at the scene of a murder. People v. Irby, 2026 IL App (4th) 241389 (Feb. 23, 2026).* Separate exigency … Continue reading
M.D.Fla.: Frisk on entering VA hospital was justified on RS
Defendant’s frisk on entering a VA hospital could be justified as an area entry search, but the facts known to the officers, that defendant was already considered a safety risk, justified it by reasonable suspicion under Terry. United States v. … Continue reading
D.Utah: Asking about drug history during traffic stop lacked RS and unreasonably extended stop
“Considering the totality of the circumstances, there are insufficient facts before the court to establish reasonable suspicion that would allow Officer Embley to prolong the stop and inquire about Kummer’s drug history. Reasonable suspicion is a low standard, but it … Continue reading
CA9: Asking whether occupant of car was armed took three seconds and didn’t unreasonably extend stop
“The district court correctly held that the officers did not violate Torres’s Fourth Amendment rights by asking him whether he was armed. The officer’s question to Torres, which took no more than three seconds to ask and answer, did not … Continue reading
OR: Stop became a seizure when questions turned to travel plans
“Applying those principles here, we conclude that, under the totality of the circumstances, defendant was seized, at the latest, at 8:53 a.m., when Smith’s questions changed from general questions about defendant’s or P’s identity, to more probing questions about what … Continue reading
TN: No standing in someone else’s curtilage
Defendant pulled his car into a convenient driveway for his stop, but he had no standing in the curtilage because it wasn’t his place. The car he had standing in, but this was a plain view. State v. Gunn, 2026 … Continue reading
PA: RS not needed to seize firearm on car seat in plain view during traffic stop
The inherent dangers in a traffic stop justified the officer doing a protective sweep to seize a firearm on the seat in plain view, despite lack of any sense that defendant was going to use it. Commonwealth v. Hawkins-Davenport, 2026 … Continue reading
AR: Trial counsel’s comment motion to suppress ruling was correct didn’t bind appellate counsel
A motion to suppress once made and denied doesn’t have to be renewed during the proof. Trial counsel’s statement that the ruling was correct didn’t bind appellate counsel to raise it, but it loses on the merits anyway. Cobb v. … Continue reading
D.Conn.: Officers muting microphones to discuss extending stop helped show Rodriguez violation
The stop was justified, but the stop was unreasonably extended for the drug dog that didn’t alert. Then the officers muted their microphones for 40 seconds before a search of defendant’s person. “The officers’ choice to spend several minutes on … Continue reading
IN: Jamming to music or twitching from drugs?
So, was defendant’s jerking movement in his car at 8 am him “jamming” or “grooving” to music or under the influence of a stimulant drug? Not enough here for reasonable suspicion. This is but a hunch. Wilson v. State, 2026 … Continue reading
CA3: Second protective sweep was justified by noise inside
The premises had been subjected to a protective sweep seeing firearms, locked up, and a search warrant was sought. Officers heard a noise inside and came in and found defendant and he’d apparently moved one of the guns. The initial … Continue reading
D.N.M.: Automobile exception search fails for lack of PC
The search of defendant’s car was unreasonable under the automobile exception because there was no probable cause to believe drugs or other evidence would be found there. Also, the inventory was invalid. United States v. Lujan, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: The Fulton County GA 2020 ballot seizure case is ordered unsealed
The Fulton County 2020 ballot seizure case is ordered unsealed. Pitts v. United States, No. 1:26-MI-00012-JPB, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28859 (N.D. Ga. Feb. 7, 2026). (Case number provided for Pacer users. I read the affidavit for warrant, and there … Continue reading
CA8: Stop unreasonably extended for drug dog; denial of suppression reversed
Window tint violation should have taken 5-6 minutes, but it dragged out for 20 minutes while the drug dog was coming. The stop was overlong under Rodriguez and the motion to suppress should have been granted. United States v. Johnson, … Continue reading
D.Mont.: LPN stop was long but also supported by outstanding warrant and then consent
Defendant’s stop for an inactive LPN was reasonable. The stop, however, was overlong and quickly turned into a drug investigation. There was also a warrant on the passenger. Defendant consented to it, and she was told she could refuse. United … Continue reading
M.D.La.: Opening the oven door during a probation home visit was reasonable, and guns were found
Defendant was under state supervision. Officers conducted a residence check and opened the oven finding three firearms. That search was reasonable. United States v. Hoang, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24056 (M.D. La. Feb. 5, 2026). Defendant was found sleeping in … Continue reading
CA11: Jury gets to decide here that stop lacked RS
There’s a dispute for the jury whether there was reasonable suspicion for plaintiff’s continued detention. The stop was based on an anonymous tip, and plaintiff didn’t match it, which the officers had to know. Jarvis v. City of Daytona Beach, … Continue reading
CA6: Flock violated no duty to ptf when he was stopped based on police mistake, if there was one
Plaintiff sued Flock because he was stopped but then released because his LPN was put on a “hot list” by police, apparently mistakenly. He had no reasonable expectation of privacy in his LPN, and his stop was by the police, … Continue reading