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- Reason: Homeland Security Is Monitoring Activists Building Anti-Flock Tech
- W.D.Pa.: Def can’t repackage a losing 4A standing claim into a due process claim
- GA: No case says SW required to ask for cell phone password
- VA: Body cam video of valid arrest would not be suppressed
- NM: Trial court’s finding of consent is reversed because the court engaged in its own internet investigation beyond what the parties provided
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Feedspot’s Best Legal Blogs and Websites 2023-2026,
also, firm website Top 90 Criminal Law Blogs 2026 -
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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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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
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General (many free):
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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)
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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)
--Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping (2012)
--Federal Laws Relating to Cybersecurity: Discussion of Proposed Revisions (2012)
ACLU on privacy
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NACDL’s Domestic Drone Information Center
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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)
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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: Stop and frisk
D.Neb.: Driving in tandem with a load of drugs justified frisk of occupants because of potential for weapons
Defendant was stopped because he was apparently driving in tandem with another vehicle carrying drugs that was stopped, and he ran a red light. Because it was a drug case and defendant was operating countersurveillance, a frisk for weapons was … Continue reading
D.Minn.: Hypodermic needle felt in patdown could be seized as potential weapon
A patdown that felt a hypodermic needle was valid because a needle could be used as a weapon. United States v. Rush, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90250 (D.Minn. July 13, 2015). Defendant was stopped for suspicion of DUI on federal … Continue reading
NYTimes: Some New York Police Street Stops Are Going Undocumented, Report Says
NYTimes: Some New York Police Street Stops Are Going Undocumented, Report Says by J. David Goodman and Al Baker: Some New York City police officers are stopping people for questioning but not documenting the encounters as required, calling into question … Continue reading
CA7: Backpack search for a weapon wasn’t justified; govt’s alternative theory was waived below
The search of defendant’s backpack wasn’t justified under any legal theory because there was neither probable cause nor reasonable suspicion for the detention. He and his companion were handcuffed behind their backs, and officer safety was no longer an issue. … Continue reading
OH10: One can run away from the police to terminate an encounter without RS
Defendant was talking to officers and ran away. They chased and captured him, all without reasonable suspicion. The law does not require that one merely walk away to terminate an encounter with the police. State v. Newland, 2015-Ohio-2358, 2015 Ohio … Continue reading
ID: Defendant’s stop was reasonably extended because defendant handed the officer an expired driver’s license
Defendant’s stop was reasonably extended because defendant handed the officer an expired driver’s license. The totality of circumstances justified a frisk of defendant’s jacket. State v. Smith, 41661, 2015 Ida. App. LEXIS __ (June 15, 2015)*:
E.D.N.C.: Charged, but yet unproved, conduct can appear in a search warrant affidavit
There were four GPS warrants on the defendant’s car, owned by his wife, June-October 2014, renewed in state court every 30 days. The court can’t conclude they were started on stale information since it referred to an ongoing drug operation. … Continue reading
SD: Frisk of an accurately described panhandler didn’t allege a crime and was invalid
A call about a panhandler did not justify his frisk. While the call accurately described him, there was not crime at all. An accurate description alone isn’t corroboration of anything. The frisk was invalid. State v. Walter, 2015 SD 37, … Continue reading
OH8: Def’s frisk before being put in back of police car for no apparent reason was unreasonable
After the driver of a car was arrested, the passenger was transportation-less because the car was being towed. He was going to call for a ride. For no apparent reason, the officer put him in the patrol car and patted … Continue reading
GA: SW for house includes all vehicles on curtilage associated with it
“Vehicles parked within the curtilage of a dwelling to be searched pursuant to a warrant may also be searched pursuant to that warrant,” so counsel couldn’t be ineffective for not challenging the searches. McLeod v. State, 2015 Ga. LEXIS 300 … Continue reading
PA: When only a patdown for weapons is authorized, manipulating the pockets to further discover the contents is an unreasonable search
When only a patdown for weapons is authorized, manipulating the pockets to further discern the contents is an unreasonable search. Here, the video of the stop showed it all. Commonwealth v. Griffin, 2015 Pa. Super. LEXIS 256 (May 12, 2015):
DE: Nervousness, 3 cell phones, past drug conviction, old alias not used not RS beyond a mere patdown; extension of stop unreasonable
The stop was for speeding, 48/25. Defendant’s extreme nervousness and criminal history for drugs and weapons and an old alias justified his patdown for weapons. Defendant was previously asked for consent to search the car and declined. The extension of … Continue reading
IL: IAC where defendant would have won nonappealed search issue
Defense counsel was ineffective in not appealing a valid motion to suppress that had been denied by the trial court but, on the merits, would have been reversed. Going to the merits of the search and seizure claim, defendant would … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: Unverified tip didn’t justify a drug test of a public employee
“In this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action, Plaintiff claims that his employer ordered him to undergo a urine drug test without reasonable suspicion that he had used drugs on the job, in violation of his Fourth Amendment right to be … Continue reading
OH4: A frisk for weapons is limited; the video here shows a search for drugs with officers digging in his pockets
A frisk for weapons is limited; the video here shows a search for drugs with officers digging in his pockets. The search wasn’t for weapons, and his consent was invalid. State v. Debrossard, 2015-Ohio-1054, 2015 Ohio App. LEXIS 989 (4th … Continue reading
Stop and Frisk: A Primer for New York Officers on the Beat
Stop and Frisk: A Primer for New York Officers on the Beat by Andrew Keshner: The NYPD is in the process of reading to its rank-and-file at roll calls two “FINEST Messages” that stress constitutional standards for police-citizen encounters-a response … Continue reading
D.Mass.: Frisk justified of a known gang member in a high crime area getting out of car with his hand in his pocket
Defendant was in a high crime area and known to be a member of a violent street gang. When he got out of a vehicle with a hand in his coat pocket, a frisk was justified. United States v. Vargas, … Continue reading
NC: Where def’s front door obviously wasn’t used, it was reasonable to go to nearest side door for knock-and-talk; MJ in plain view
Officers came to defendant’s house to do a knock-and-talk based on reports he was growing marijuana. The front door was covered in plastic and appeared to have furniture blocking it, so they went to the nearest door, on the side … Continue reading
MS: Lifting def’s shirt during a Terry stop was reasonable; drugs revealed
Lifting defendant’s baggy shirt during a virtual felony stop, but characterized as a Terry stop, was not unreasonable because a weapon could have been there [although the court admits that there was no belief there was a gun]. Instead, drugs … Continue reading
D.Mass.: No RS for stop; court disagrees with case it has to follow
The officer had just less than reasonable suspicion under binding authority that this judge doesn’t agree with, so the motion to suppress is reluctantly granted. United States v. Smith, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5512 (D. Mass. January 16, 2015)*: