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- IN: Overdose call led to EMS telling police what they saw and that led to SW
- NY1: A mental health defense waives REP in the medical records about it
- MA: When a likely Franks violation comes out at trial, def gets to reopen the suppression issue
- RI: Challenge to one sentence of 8-page cell phone records SW fails; totality has to be considered
- WaPo: Subpoena bill would curtail secretive tool used to target government critics
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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)
--Outline of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping (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: Inventory
CA4: Inventory would happen so that’s inevitable discovery
The discovery of the contraband was by inevitable discovery because an inventory was going to occur in any event. The fact the policy wasn’t written isn’t determinative as long as it is reasonable. United States v. Bullette, 2017 U.S. App. … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: If an inventory is otherwise valid, it doesn’t matter that it also had an investigative purpose
Defendant’s cell phone was seized from his car after a stop. If an inventory is otherwise valid, it doesn’t matter that it also had an investigative purpose. A search warrant was sought for the cell phone. The affidavit for the … Continue reading
D.Nev.: Failure to follow inventory showed it was a general rummaging
Defendant’s stop was based on the Wyoming LPN coming back as expired, but it turned out that Wyoming has a different database for trucks, even pickup trucks. Shortly thereafter, the LPN was found in a different search by dispatch. The … Continue reading
AL: Lack of an inventory sheet fatal to the state’s claim the search was valid as an inventory
The lack of an inventory sheet fatal to the state’s claim the search was valid as an inventory. Keith v. State, 2017 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 14 (March 17, 2017):
MA: Impoundment unreasonable in purported “high crime” area that was partly residential with other cars already there; Swiss Army knife not an indicator other weapons in car
Defendant was stopped and arrested in a “high crime” area [which apparently didn’t include stripping cars]. The area was partly residential and other cars were parked on the street, too. That alone didn’t make it reasonable to have to impound … Continue reading
IN: Inventory not sufficiently regulated to be valid; also, officer’s deviation from inventory showed pretext
The search of defendant’s truck was not sufficiently regulated by standardized police procedures and therefore was pretextual, as the vague, conflicting inventory regime of the police department was not capable of sufficiently regulating the search. Even if it was, the … Continue reading
D.Neb.: Govt proved inventory valid and not pretext; there was also PC for the search
Defendants were arrested for robbery, and they objected to the R&R as failing to consider that the inventory of the vehicle was a pretext for an investigative search. The court finds that the policy on inventory was followed and that … Continue reading
D.Nev.: No actual or apparent authority to consent shown; presence of gun in motel room not exigency per se
Actual authority to consent and apparent authority in a motel room are two different things. Here, the government can’t show either on this record. The possibility of a gun in the room is not an exigent circumstance. United States v. … Continue reading
WA: While impoundment was permissible, state law required reasonable alternatives be considered first
While impoundment was statutorily permitted, state law requires alternatives be explored before impoundment. Here it wasn’t, so the impoundment is suppressed. State v. Froehlich, 2017 Wash. App. LEXIS 366 (Feb. 14, 2017):
IA: Two finding defective inventory due to police investigative motive
“In any event, it is clear that Officer Carter failed to remove the license plates and registration receipt before impounding the car. Because the officer overlooked the legislatively imposed requirements for the impoundment, it appears he was motivated solely by … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: Mixed motive for otherwise valid inventory doesn’t make it unreasonable
A mixed motive for an inventory search doesn’t make it unreasonable as long as the inventory was reasonable. United States v. Dowl, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7184 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 19, 2017):
E.D.Okla.: Search of vehicle on roadside not unreasonable because it started as a proper inventory
Defendant was stopped for his tag light being out, and it resulted in finding that his DL was suspended. That meant that his vehicle would be towed. The inventory by all appearances was starting, because a video showed the inventory … Continue reading
W.D.Mo.: RS still required for a Long protective weapons search of a car
There was no reasonable suspicion for a protective weapons search. Without reasonable suspicion, all cars are subject to search without cause, thereby nullifying the Fourth Amendment. Defendant was stopped in his driveway, and there was also an effort to call … Continue reading
W.D.Pa.: After gun was found in car, search incident and automobile exception didn’t apply, but inventory was inevitable [right result, wrong reasoning]
After defendant’s car was stopped, the officers conducted a Michigan v. Long protective weapons search of the car while gaining control of the defendant, and a gun was located. There was a search incident: “Furthermore, he was standing at the … Continue reading
TX2: “the impoundment of the vehicle was a task tied to the traffic infraction” and didn’t extend it
Defendant was stopped for a brake light infraction, and neither he nor the passenger had a valid DL or insurance. Thus, impoundment is in order. “Similarly, the impoundment of the vehicle was a task tied to the traffic infraction, and … Continue reading
IN: Search incident of jacket left in car on arrest for outstanding warrant was unreasonable
Defendant was pulled over because an LPN check showed his license was suspended and there was a warrant out for him. When he got out of the car, he took off his jacket and left it in the car. Since … Continue reading
CA11: Prior drug sale from house was nexus for SW of house
Nexus was shown for the search of defendant’s house by the prior drug transactions that occurred inside the house. This was a seven year long conspiracy. United States v. Woodard, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 21382 (11th Cir. Nov. 30, 2016). … Continue reading
D.Minn.: The officer doesn’t need to cite the specific inventory policy section at the suppression hearing to make the inventory lawful
Defendant’s stop for speeding was justified. “Officer Petterson testified that he decided to impound the Acura because the Acura was not registered to Reilly; the owner was not present; both occupants of the vehicle were being taken into custody; the … Continue reading
NY: Shoplifting custodial arrest justified impoundment and towing of def’s car
Defendant drove to a store and was custodially arrested there for shoplifting. Towing and inventory of his vehicle off their parking lot was reasonable. A valid inventory followed. People v. Tardi, 2016 NY Slip Op 07822, 2016 N.Y. LEXIS 3535 … Continue reading
S.D.Ohio: More than a conclusory statement of recklessness or intent required for Franks hearing
Just because information is erroneous doesn’t get you a Franks hearing. More than a mere conclusion is required that the statement was recklessly or deliberately false. United States v. Kurtz, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160356 (S.D.Ohio Nov. 18, 2016). Defendant … Continue reading