Archives
-
Recent Posts
- OH2: Stop outside the officer’s jurisdiction doesn’t violate 4A
- RawStory Opinion: Trump just declared these parts of America are outside the Constitution (within 100 miles of any border)
- CA1: SW for iPhone 6S didn’t permit search of iPhone 13 despite same phone number
- CA7: It wasn’t a 4A violation to place a pole camera to look over def’s fence he built knowing he was under surveillance
- NM: Conflict of laws: NM exclusionary rule applies to TX search
-
-
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: Reasonable suspicion
OH5: Dog was called two minutes into stop of RV and it didn’t prolong the stop
Defendant’s RV was stopped for crossing the center line, and a drug dog was called within two minutes, arriving shortly thereafter. Waiting for and using the dog did not delay the stop, and the Fourth Amendment was not violated. State … Continue reading
E.D.N.C.: When there is RS, officers do not need to rule out innocent explanations
Where there is reasonable suspicion to pull over and keep a driver detained, the officer need not rule out innocent explanations for defendant’s conduct. United States v. Smith, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69687 (E.D. N.C. Mar. 17, 2021):
WV: Emergency order of protection was not functional equivalent of SW for entry into home
Officers with an emergency order of protection used it to enter defendant’s house and seize firearms. The protections of the Fourth Amendment and the state constitution are greater. The order was not, then, the functional equivalent of a warrant, and … Continue reading
CA11: Stop for not having license on bicycle in violation of city code was reasonable
The officer’s stop of defendant for not having a license on his bike per local ordinance was reasonable. Defendant’s flight justified his detention and seizure of his backpack. CoA denied. Thomas v. Sec’y, Dep’t of Corr., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS … Continue reading
W.D.Tenn.: CI’s tip def had a gun was corroborated by def discarding it in view of officers
Police received a CI’s tip defendant had a gun. The tip alone lacked reliability until the officer saw defendant discard it. “Notably, the reasonable suspicion standard does not present the most demanding hurdle to overcome. See Kansas v. Glover, 140 … Continue reading
S.D.Ohio: Pole cam observation of def with blunt was RS for stop
Zooming in on a pole cam video, officers determined that defendant had a blunt in his hand when he was getting in his car. The question is reasonable suspicion, and officers don’t have to exhaust the innocent possibilities before acting … Continue reading
E.D.Pa.: Warrantless arrest with PC in public place is reasonable
Defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights were not violated when he was arrested without a warrant with probable cause in a public place. Reaching in defendant’s sweat shirt pocket to retrieve a gun was reasonable. United States v. Kelly-Sizer, 2021 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
CA8: Warrantless seizure of computer in fraud case was reasonable because of exigency
The warrantless seizure of defendant’s computer was justified by exigent circumstances that it contained evidence of fraud. United States v. Mays, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 9861 (8th Cir. Apr. 6, 2021). “Because we conclude that the officer’s initial question about … Continue reading
D.Ariz.: Def’s motion to unseal SW affidavit denied because of ongoing investigation
Defendant’s motion to unseal the affidavit for the search warrant is denied because of an ongoing investigation it would reveal and because he can’t show a lack of probable cause for the search. United States v. Calleta, 2021 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
W.D.Pa.: SW for drug proceeds properly included jewelry it could have been converted to
A search warrant for drug proceeds properly included jewelry that the officer, in his experience, believed drug traffickers converted cash to. United States v. Thomas, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65553 (W.D. Pa. Apr. 5, 2021). The officer here saw a … Continue reading
S.D.N.Y.: Def counsel’s strategic decisions about how to argue a suppress issue is entitled to deference
Defense counsel’s strategic decisions about to argue a suppression motion is entitled to nearly total deference. Brown v. United States, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63948 (S.D. N.Y. Apr. 1, 2021). Petitioner’s 2255 claim is based on defense counsel’s not raising … Continue reading
CA11: Def’s stop on another driver’s tip was RS
A driver’s tip was sufficiently corroborated to be reasonable suspicion. At defendant’s stop, “Demeanor counts for a lot.” United States v. Martinez, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 9480 (11th Cir. Apr. 1, 2021):
KY: State failed to call witnesses to show RS for extending stop for drug dog
The state failed to prove its reasonable suspicion for extending the stop. The officer alone detaining at the scene for the drug dog didn’t have the evidence. Giles v. Commonwealth, 2021 Ky. App. LEXIS 45 (Mar. 26, 2021):
CA4: Officers watching def on a CI’s tip saw a handshake which they surmised was a drug sale; no RS from a handshake
“In order to sustain reasonable suspicion, officers must consider the totality of the circumstances and, in doing so, must not overlook facts that tend to dispel reasonable suspicion. Here, officers relied on general information from a confidential informant; two interactions … Continue reading
W.D.La.: Govt showed justification for protective sweep of person then car
“The firearms and drugs were found during the protective sweep of the passenger area of the vehicle. The initial stop and pat-down of Defendant were justified under Terry, and the subsequent protective sweep of the car for weapons was a … Continue reading
NY3: Issuing magistrate misstating his judicial position not reason to suppress
The issuing magistrate’s misnaming his judicial position (city judge v. acting county judge) didn’t make the search warrant void. People v. Mayhew, 2021 NY Slip Op 01807, 2021 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 1924 (3d Dept. Mar. 25, 2021). A “Tag … Continue reading
MI: No RS for PBT; nothing about def’s demeanor or appearance suggested he was under the influence
Nothing about defendant’s appearance or demeanor, other than bloodshot eyes, suggested he was under the influence. Administration of a PBT lacked reasonable suspicion. People v. Olson, 2021 Mich. App. LEXIS 1927 (Mar. 25, 2021):
TX5: SW to seize blood for BAC also allows analysis
Texas already settled the issue that a search warrant to take blood implicitly includes the ability to test it. State v. Armstrong, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 2162 (Tex. App. – Dallas Mar. 22, 2021).* The stop was reasonably extended because … Continue reading
D.S.D.: Def’s past history with drugs didn’t support RS for continuing this stop
Knowledge of defendant’s past history with drugs and trafficking collectively didn’t provide reasonable suspicion that he was involved in the day in question. United States v. Johnson, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 52210 (D.S.D. Mar. 16, 2021):
LA1: Evading a traffic stop justifies a patdown
Defendant’s stop was justified by a traffic offense. His evading justified a patdown. State v. Young, 2021 La. App. LEXIS 377 (La. App. 1 Cir. Mar. 18, 2021). “In this case, the Court need not determine whether the search warrant … Continue reading