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Recent Posts
- D.Minn.: Extending stop to run ALPR information on car was with RS
- CA3: Ptf was arrested on an apparent but recalled warrant, then officers confirmed it and let him go; the arrest was reasonable
- N.D.Ohio: Failure to serve state SW within state mandated time not 4A violation
- NY1: Gunshot through floor from apartment above was exigency
- Reason: Most Civil Forfeiture Victims Never See the Inside of a Courtroom
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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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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
CA1: Alleged overseizure of email under SW would only require partial suppression; def doesn’t identify that which was overseized
Defendant’s motion to suppress electronic data acquired by a Rule 41(e)(2)(B) search warrant on his email account was properly denied. Based on the absence of a time limit in the warrant, it was not unreasonable to interpret the warrant to … Continue reading
CA11: Further detaining plaintiff at jail after she made bond on a hunch she was not legally in the U.S. denied QI
“The evidence, interpreted in the light most favorable to Alcocer, is sufficient for a reasonable jury to conclude that Mills violated Alcocer’s Fourth Amendment rights by continuing to detain her without new probable cause after her attempted posting of bond … Continue reading
MI: Def’s lying about smell of MJ was PC despite state’s medical MJ law
Defendant’s lying about the smell of marijuana in his car was probable cause that he was in possession of more than the amount permitted under the state medical marijuana law. People v. Moorman, 2020 Mich. App. LEXIS 1111 (Feb. 13, … Continue reading
CA9: Motion to suppress tax records obtained by IRS because his “private property interests” were invaded wasn’t presented below and is waived
“Galloway next argues that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress because the IRS’s warrantless inspection of his financial records violated his private-property interests under the Fourth Amendment. But Galloway ‘never requested suppression on this ground in … Continue reading
LA: Truck driver who phoned in report of passed out driver with gun in lap on busy NOLA bridge was not “anonymous”
Defendant was stopped and apparently passed out on the Claiborne Street bridge in New Orleans. A truck driver called in to report it and that defendant had a gun in his lap. Then an accident occurred. The trial court erred … Continue reading
TX14: It was clearly established standing on an arrestee’s face was excessive; here, causation for death not shown
“We conclude that controlling authority’ or ‘a robust “consensus of cases of persuasive authority”’ as of September 2010 make it sufficiently clear that every reasonable official would understand (as did those who testified) that stepping on the nose and mouth … Continue reading
S.D.Fla.: Radio report of a gun brought police to def, and his furtive movement was then RS
Stop and frisk was with reasonable suspicion. “Having received a radio communication that Defendant appeared to be armed and having observed Defendant reaching toward his waist in a manner consistent with reaching towards an area of the body where individuals … Continue reading
CA9: Ptf’s shooting for a slow speed chase where all traffic laws were obeyed stated § 1983 claim and no QI
Plaintiff was attempted to be stopped by Tacoma police for driving without headlights on. Plaintiff didn’t have his DL on him, and he’d recently smoked crack. Therefore, he drove home at normal speeds and obeyed all stop signs and traffic … Continue reading
CA4: Unnecessarily shooting ptf’s dog was a 4A seizure
Officer came to scene at plaintiff’s house and parked his car within the running area of a dog on a lease between two trees. The plaintiff came out to get the dog. It barked at the officer. When the dog … Continue reading
CA7: Ptf’s suit for arrest for possession and obstruction was barred by arguable PC
Plaintiff was arrested for possession of cocaine and obstructing justice when he allegedly swallowed the baggie of drugs. He was taken to a hospital and drank charcoal and other liquids to pass it and he was x-rayed. Nothing was recovered. … Continue reading
S.D.W.Va.: Reasonable mistake of fact def’s license was invalid doesn’t void the stop; smell of MJ led to search
The officer’s reasonable mistake of fact defendant’s license was invalid doesn’t void the stop. “In sum, Detective Maniskas was sufficiently diligent in his investigation of Qualls’ licenses. The fact that Qualls’ license was actually valid has no impact on Maniskas’ … Continue reading
CA6: Game officers had PC to arrest ptf for night hunting with lights despite ptf winning some counts at state trial and state abandoning last one on his promise not to do it anymore
Officers had probable cause to arrest plaintiff for shining deer at night when he was spotted from an airplane on patrol. He was arrested for hunting under the influence and at night. He ultimately got counts dismissed, one for his … Continue reading
TN: The 4A certified question doesn’t resolve the appeal, so appeal dismissed
The certified question related to consent to search was not dispositive to the outcome of the case for purposes of Tenn. R. Crim. P. 37(b)(2)(A). Even if defendant’s consent to search the home was constitutionally invalid and exigent circumstances did … Continue reading
S.C.: Franks violation can support a § 1983 claim
A Franks violation can support a § 1983 claim. Manuel v. City of Joliet, Ill., 137 S. Ct. 911, 919 (2017). Carter v. Bryant, 2020 S.C. App. LEXIS 6 (Jan. 15, 2020). The arresting officers were entitled to qualified immunity … Continue reading
D.Utah: Defendant in prior dismissed federal action by state consumer protection agency refiled in state court won’t prevent state from using evidence obtained for that action
The state sued in federal court for relief, and it got a TRO, but the claim was later dismissed. Copies of records were made and originals returned. After the state sued in state court, the defendants sought application of the … Continue reading
Reason: Does Letting Police Enter Your House Give Them Permission To Wreck It?
Reason: Does Letting Police Enter Your House Give Them Permission To Wreck It? by Jacob Sullum The Institute for Justice asks the Supreme Court to clarify a doctrine that shields cops from responsibility for outrageous conduct.
CA7: Handcuffing winded obese man behind his back led to death because of unknown heart condition; not excessive force
Plaintiff’s decedent was in a foot chase with officers after a shoplifting incident. He was winded, obese, and, unknown to officers, had a heart condition. He was handcuffed behind his back and died from lack of oxygen in his blood. … Continue reading
CA10: Causing a handcuffed unseatbelted arrestee to be bounced around the back seat while driving fast and recklessly states an excessive force claim; no QI
“McCowan based his excessive-force claim on his assertion that Officer Moralez placed McCowan in the back seat of a patrol car, handcuffed behind his back and unrestrained by a seatbelt, and then drove recklessly to the police station, knowing his … Continue reading
D.Md.: Conviction at trial despite reversal on appeal forecloses § 1983 false arrest case
Plaintiff was charged with OVI and was convicted at trial. On appeal to the next level he was found not guilty of that but convicted of evading an interlock device. He sued over the OVI arrest, and it is dismissed … Continue reading
CA5: Def was stopped on RS when officers arrived at a drug house to serve an arrest warrant; he could have been armed or would warn others
Defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights were not violated by officers who stopped on reasonable suspicion to stop him based on the fact that defendant was told to stop when he walked away from officers and attempted to leave their field of … Continue reading