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Recent Posts
- CA11: Service of SW without attachments isn’t 4A violation
- KS: Running warrants on a passed out person is reasonable
- M.D.Fla.: Unidentified pills in driver’s lap may have been RS but it wasn’t PC for arrest
- D.C.Cir.: It was reasonable for officers to conclude that evidence or instrumentalities of the crime would be found in the car used in a robbery
- CA7: Officer’s warrantless view of CSAM flagged by hash value was not unreasonable
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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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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)
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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: Qualified immunity
D.Ore.: Officer may be cross-examined at trial over contents of SW affidavit if relevant
“The Court denies the Government’s motion to prohibit Defendant from cross-examining IRS Special Agent Jason Nix on his sworn statements contained in a search warrant application. See ECF 100 at 13-15. Defendant may cross examine Special Agent Nix regarding any … Continue reading
N.D.N.Y.: Younger doctrine bars suit against state AG investigation’s subpoena
Plaintiffs’ claims that various constitutional rights were infringed by the state Attorney General’s alleged politically motivated investigation are barred by the Younger doctrine. As to the Fourth Amendment claim, it was directed at subpoenas. Trump v. James, 2022 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
CA10: Pepper spraying a subdued misdemeanant was unreasonable; no QI
“Addressing the two prongs of qualified immunity below, we conclude that the use of pepper spray violated Mr. Wilkins’s clearly established right to be free from the additional use of force after he was effectively subdued. The officers were not … Continue reading
10A Center: Is Qualified Immunity “Necessary?”
10A Center: Is Qualified Immunity “Necessary?” by Mike Maharrey (“Qualified immunity is a legal defense that allows government officials to escape civil lawsuits when they are accused of violating constitutional rights. Opponents say it lets bad government actors escape accountability. … Continue reading
CA2: Video surveillance in Thailand legal under Thai law admissible here
The DEA with Thai officers installed a camera and listening device in a dwelling in Phuket, Thailand. Defendant was a short-time guest there and he was recorded. Apparently the installation and monitoring was legal under Thai law. The capture of … Continue reading
CA11: QI for officers sued in Florida spa video surveillance case
Plaintiff’s § 1983 case over the video surveillance in the East Sea Spa case (see here) fails on qualified immunity for lack of clearly established law. Thompson v. Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 10266 (11th Cir. … Continue reading
MT: Magistrate’s jurisdiction for SW is over place it could be found, not crime
The geographic limitation on magistrates issuing search warrants applies to the location of the evidence sought, not the location of the crime. State v. Grussing, 2022 MT 76, 2022 Mont. LEXIS 319 (Apr. 12, 2022). The telecommunication records here could … Continue reading
CA7: Younger and immunity bar ptf’s § 1983 claim against search
Plaintiff’s claims that the parties conspired to falsify evidence of this search against him, aside from being fantastical, was barred by Younger and qualified or absolute immunity for all the parties. Shaw v. Cnty. of Milwaukee, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS … Continue reading
CA7: Def’s detention during protective sweep looking for another was unreasonable
Defendant’s detention in an apartment building during a protective sweep for a fugitive that clearly wasn’t him was unreasonable. The district court’s denial of the motion to suppress is reversed. United States v. Segoviano, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 8771 (7th … Continue reading
CA6: Misidentification and 24 days in jail for wrong man not shown to be pattern for city liability
“‘Benny’ Lopez of Traverse City sold heroin to a confidential informant working with the Traverse Narcotics Team in northern Michigan. ‘Benjamin’ Lopez of Grand Rapids did not. Yet officers arrested Benjamin, not Benny, for this crime. The wrong Lopez languished … Continue reading
A few § 1983 cases on QI and summary judgment
Ordering plaintiff out of the Sheriff’s Office lobby for fear of disruption was novel as a potential seizure and that’s subject to qualified immunity. “Sheriff Crone’s conduct in ordering Mr. Brandt to leave the lobby due to a perceived disruption … Continue reading
D.Ore.: Detailed extra information to provide context that ultimately proves unnecessary to the PC finding doesn’t make the warrant bad
“SA Nix’s 56-page affidavit provides detailed information that is directly connected to an evasion of payment charge. Those few sentences or portions of sentences that pertain exclusively to an evasion of tax assessment charge have a de minimis impact on … Continue reading
CA9: Two on QI: pepper spraying and Tasering
Officer denied qualified immunity for pepper-spraying a non-violent protester in the face. “In sum, every reasonable officer had notice at the time of the incident that, if reasonable alternatives are available, even in somewhat chaotic circumstances, he or she cannot … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: QI in § 1983 case over scope of search outside SW; items were related
Plaintiff’s § 1983 suit against participants in the search of his property alleging the search was overbroad is dismissed for qualified immunity. The officers showed restraint and the items seized were reasonably related to the offense under investigation. Hoeltzel v. … Continue reading
VI: Def’s incapacity not bar to BAC blood draw and implied consent
Defendant’s incapacity does not nullify his implied consent to a BAC blood draw by statute. People v. Joseph, 2022 VI SUPER 12, 2022 V.I. LEXIS 16 (Jan. 27, 2022) (10 months from suppression hearing to order). A nonprosecution agreement does … Continue reading
Child removal claim is the child’s, not the parents’
“Plaintiff may not maintain an action on behalf for her child for this removal because ‘Fourth Amendment rights are personal rights which … may not be vicariously asserted.’ Alderman v. United States, 394 U.S. 165, 174 (1969); Southerland v. City … Continue reading
FL4: Suspicionless probation search condition violates state law
The probation search condition permitting one without reasonable suspicion violates state law. Remanded to strike it from probation terms. Bowman v. State, 2022 Fla. App. LEXIS 1611 (Fla. 4th DCA Mar. 9, 2022). Window tinting stop: “Moreover, because Trooper Otterson … Continue reading
N.D.Ill.: Part of this search of the wrong house under a SW dismissed
The target of this search had moved, so this was the search of the wrong house. Among a host of issues, service of an alleged illegible warrant is governed by qualified immunity. It was signed by a judge. The warrant … Continue reading
D.Kan.: One can’t pull in driveway to avoid traffic stop and prevent it by arguing curtilage
A person can’t pull into a private driveway and insulate him or herself from an officer investigating a traffic offense. Here, the officer was going to just issue a warning but saw drugs in plain view in the car in … Continue reading
CA11: Not clearly established warning required before use of deadly force
It was not well established that police need to warn armed people before shooting them. Here, the shooting victim was an innocent homeowner who had a gun on him around his own house investigating a prowler, and the police saw … Continue reading