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- CA3: Brady doesn’t apply to SW materials
- E.D.Mich.: Person a cell phone was given to as gift could consent to search
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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)
--Overview of the 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
CA3: Officer was face-to-face with citizen informant in a high-crime area about man with a gun; it was sufficiently reliable
“Officer Pickel received a tip that Torres, just moments before, had discharged a firearm in a high-crime area. A brief encounter with police ensued. Only thirty-five seconds elapsed between the time when Officer Pickel ordered Torres to stop and when … Continue reading
CA11: Nervousness and some other things don’t rise to RS
There was no reasonable suspicion for defendant’s continued detention after his traffic stop. The officer testified he was more nervous than normal, but the court couldn’t see it on the video. Each of the government’s arguments for reasonable suspicion on … Continue reading
TX14: No RS for going up to parked car in parking lot without RS
The officer did not have reasonable suspicion to stop and talk to defendant sitting in a car with another in a parking lot at night doing nothing. The area was considered high crime, but there was nothing suggesting any need … Continue reading
NJ: Tier III GPS sex offender monitoring valid under special needs exception
GPS monitoring of Tier III sex offenders is a search, and it is shown to be valid under the special needs exception. “As to the governmental interest, the Court notes that the State’s interest in deterring and preventing sexual offenses … Continue reading
N.D.Ill.: Detailed 911 call was RS
This detailed 911 call provided reasonable suspicion. “The answer is somewhere in the middle, but ultimately favors the government’s view. It is a close call, but the anonymous tip in this case contained just enough indicia of reliability to support … Continue reading
CA6: Alleged lack of nexus in showing of PC saved by GFE
Defendant challenges the lack of nexus of his alleged conduct to the premises, but it doesn’t matter because the good faith exception applies. United States v. Novak, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 17133 (6th Cir. May 29, 2020). Inconsistent and implausible … Continue reading
MD: Officer’s take down of def when he got out of his car was unjustified, so frisk invalid
The officer’s take down of the defendant when he got out of his car wasn’t supported by the record. Thus, the following frisk was unjustified. Williams v. State, 2020 Md. App. LEXIS 512 (May 29, 2020):
CA5: Protective sweep reasonable after def first barricaded himself and then surrendered
A protective sweep was justified on defendant’s arrest after he’d barricaded himself inside and then gave up. United States v. Hernandez, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 17027 (5th Cir. May 28, 2020). Petitioner isn’t entitled to a writ of mandamus for … Continue reading
TX1: Officer’s subjective motivation to follow to observe more driving didn’t undo the RS
The officer’s testimony was the same as the dashcam video, and supported reasonable suspicion. However, “The trial court found there was no reasonable suspicion of the offense of driving while intoxicated based on Cardenas’s testimony, supported by video evidence, that … Continue reading
FL1: Possession of a concealed weapon in Florida isn’t inherently criminal, so no RS
Possession of a concealed weapon in Florida isn’t inherently criminal, and the officer lacked reasonable suspicion for a patdown and removing the gun from defendant’s waistband. Kilburn v. State, 2020 Fla. App. LEXIS 7525 (Fla. 1st DCA May 29, 2020) … Continue reading
D.Me.: Order of protection between occupants of car is RS
When the officer discovers an order of protection between two people in a car, there is reasonable suspicion to investigate further. United States v. Williams, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91549 (D. Me. May 26, 2020). The police reasonably believed the … Continue reading
CA11: Seeing handrolled joint in hand in high crime area was RS
“As Officer Erik Cabrales of the Ocala Police Department and Officer Rodriguez patrolled an apartment complex known for violence and drug sales, they observed Fredericks sitting outside holding a cigarette that had been hand-rolled in brown paper. Cabrales noticed Fredericks … Continue reading
D.N.J.: How this case determined credibility of the witnesses
“The Court credits Officer Pompeo’s testimony because he offered a version of events that is not only plausible but also aligns with the respective motivations of law enforcement and Ms. Rodriguez, in light of other, undisputed facts surrounding the events … Continue reading
GU: Driver of a car has apparent authority to consent to search
The driver of a car presumptively has the apparent authority to consent to its search even though he didn’t own it. People v. Quintanilla, 2020 Guam LEXIS 8 (May 21, 2020). Two new and unused meth pipes in defendant’s glove … Continue reading
Two on delay under Rodriguez, one reasonable, one unreasonable
Under Rodriguez, “[a]s we have explained, having Barker sit in the patrol car was within ‘[t]he reasonable scope of the initial traffic stop’ itself. … The stop was not extended until the officer conducted a search, but by then, probable … Continue reading
NY2: Inclusion of some unauthorized persons in the list of those to execute the SW doesn’t void it
The search warrant here was directed to local police officers, the state police, and a special operations group of the sheriff’s office which included correctional officers which were not LEOs capable of executing warrants. Their inclusion didn’t void the warrant. … Continue reading
D.Nev.: Franks challenges have two elements; failure of one is failure of the claim
The court can resolve Franks challenges by answering the easiest of the two questions, falsity or materiality, since both are required. Here, the alleged falsity wasn’t material to the probable cause determination, and that ends the inquiry. United States v. … Continue reading
OH5: Walking down the middle of the street at night in a high crime area justified a patdown
Walking down the middle of the street at night in a high crime area justified a patdown. State v. Hall, 2020-Ohio-2937, 2020 Ohio App. LEXIS 1913 (5th Dist. May 15, 2020).* Replica of Glover: State v. Anglin, 2020-Ohio-2907, 2020 Ohio … Continue reading
CA5: 4 questions in 35 seconds at immigration checkpoint were reasonable
Four questions in 35 seconds at an immigration checkpoint were reasonable and for immigration purposes, not general crime control. United States v. Avery, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 15034 (5th Cir. May 11, 2020). A random LPN check showed the owner’s … Continue reading
OH6: Deliberate stall of traffic stop for drug dog was unreasonable
There was no reasonable suspicion to continue the stop in this case. The officer called for backup and a dog, and the first officer there told him to stall for the dog. Nothing was done for eight minutes to pursue … Continue reading