Archives
-
Recent Posts
- CA11: NCMEC’s cybertips are reliable enough to support PC and the GFE
- MS: Execution style murder in public in broad daylight was exigency to get suspect’s CSLI
- OH1: Statute says ID can’t be sought when def in back of police car because it’s not a “public place”
- CA3: Strip search outside of jail without SW or exigency violates 4A, but QI here
- CA3: Ptfs pled a 4A claim for CPS workers demanding entry without sufficient exigency
-
Feedspot’s Best Legal Blogs and Websites 2023-2026,
also, firm website Top 90 Criminal Law Blogs 2026 -
-
ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2015-17) (then discontinued)
-
-
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) -
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fourth Amendment cases, citations, and links -
Latest Slip Opinions:
U.S. Supreme Court (Home)
S.Ct. Shadow Docket Database
Federal Appellate Courts Opinions
First Circuit
Second Circuit
Third Circuit
Fourth Circuit
Fifth Circuit
Sixth Circuit
Seventh Circuit
Eighth Circuit
Ninth Circuit
Tenth Circuit
Eleventh Circuit
D.C. Circuit
Federal Circuit
Foreign Intell.Surv.Ct.
FDsys, many district courts, other federal courts
Military Courts: C.A.A.F., Army, AF, N-M, CG, SF
State courts (and some USDC opinions)
Google Scholar
Advanced Google Scholar
Google search tips
LexisWeb
LII State Appellate Courts
LexisONE free caselaw
Findlaw Free Opinions
To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
Research Links:
Supreme Court:
SCOTUSBlog
S. Ct. Docket
Solicitor General's site
SCOTUSreport
Briefs online (but no amicus briefs)
Oyez Project (NWU)
"On the Docket"–Medill
S.Ct. Monitor: Law.com
S.Ct. Com't'ry: Law.com
-
General (many free):
LexisWeb
Google Scholar | Google
LexisOne Legal Website Directory
Crimelynx
Lexis.com $
Lexis.com (criminal law/ 4th Amd) $
Findlaw.com
Findlaw.com (4th Amd)
Westlaw.com $
F.R.Crim.P. 41
www.fd.org
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)
-
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
Privacy Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
NACDL’s Domestic Drone Information Center
Electronic Privacy Information Center
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)
-
“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: Abandonment
M.D.Ga.: Dropping cell phone in flight from wrecked car is abandonment
A series of alleged crimes and other actions of the defendant was probable cause to search defendant’s phone found in his car. [There is no nexus to the crimes mentioned in the opinion, so I submit it’s wrong on this … Continue reading
CA7: Despite govt’s not raising abandonment, the court finds it anyway
The government conceded no abandonment and sought other exceptions to the warrant requirement. The court of appeals finds abandonment anyway because the record is clear. In addition, an allegation of a Franks violation fails without alleging that probable cause does … Continue reading
S.D.Ohio: Attempted search incident well after arrest when duffle bag was away from def was not “incident to arrest”; govt overspinned the facts
The officer lacked exigency for a warrantless entry to arrest. Defendant put his duffle bag outside a second story window on the roof to conceal it. It was not abandoned because the public didn’t have access to it. All he … Continue reading
TX4: No REP in totaled car at the wrecker yard
Defendant totaled his car in an accident. The black box evidence was sought by warrant, but the court holds that defendant effectively abandoned the car to the wrecking yard. Vitela v. State, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2759 (Tex. App. – … Continue reading
W.D.Tex.: Def had REP in bag in car but no standing in rest of search of car
While defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the car he was in, he retained a reasonable expectation of privacy in his bag in the car. United States v. Grice, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72586 (W.D.Tex. Apr. 20, 2022). … Continue reading
E.D.Tenn.: USDJ doesn’t second guess USMJ’s credibility determinations in the R&R
USDJ doesn’t second guess USMJ’s credibility determinations in the R&R on a motion to suppress. United States v. Bowman, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69156 (E.D.Tenn. Apr. 14, 2022).* A bag left outdoors at an apartment complex for more than a … Continue reading
D.Mass.: A foreign law enforcement agency can be a CI, and these are the standards
“Given these facts, the Magistrate Judge reasonably relied on the foreign agency’s tip in concluding that probable cause existed to issue the search warrant because (1) ‘a tip from one federal law enforcement agency to another implies a degree of … Continue reading
E.D.Wash.: Tribal membership confers no standing; Art. III standing isn’t 4A standing
Tribal membership confers no standing. “Article III standing is not Fourth Amendment standing, and Defendants’ argument that the Confederated Tribes [and Bands of Yakima Nation v. Yakima County, 963 F.3d 982 (9th Cir. 2020)] decision, by negative implication, means that … Continue reading
D.Neb.: Dog sniff during investigation of a traffic accident didn’t extend the stop
“The evidence before the Court indicates the canine sniff in this case did not prolong the ‘mission’ of Officer Sautter’s traffic accident investigation. The total length of time from when Defendant’s vehicle was struck to when Officer Sautter’s canine alerted … Continue reading
D.Neb.: Omitting that there was no prior indication of drug dealing from anticipatory SW application not material
Omitting from the affidavit for an anticipatory warrant that there was no prior indication of drug dealing at the location isn’t material for Franks purposes. United States v. Espinoza, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39195 (D.Neb. Jan. 28, 2022). [There’s always … Continue reading
ID: If a motion to suppress is untimely, at least show good cause for the delay
The trial court did not err in denying a motion to suppress as untimely without inquiring into possible good cause or excusable neglect for the delay where the defense offered nothing on that. Defendant stripping down and leaving his clothes … Continue reading
D.Conn.: Dropping a bag when stopped, walking away from it, and then denying having it was abandonment
Defendant had a red Nike bag on him when the car was stopped, and he got out of the car and dropped it on the ground and walked away from it. When questioned about the bag, he denied he’d dropped … Continue reading
DC: Throwing backpack over a wall running from police is abandonment
The police gave chase to defendant, and he ran down an alley and threw his backpack over a wall into somebody else’s backyard. “In the present case, we assume without deciding that Mr. Kyle retained a subjective expectation of privacy … Continue reading
NY2: Def stated IAC claim that defense counsel never looked at SW materials
Defendant stated a claim for ineffective assistance of counsel that defense counsel never obtained the search warrant materials to even investigate. Reversed to have the state produce it. People v. Tindley, 2022 NY Slip Op 00886, 2022 N.Y. App. Div. … Continue reading
N.D.Ill.: Nothing about 911 man-with-a-gun call could be corroborated; backpack def set down when told to come outside was not abandoned
A 911 call about a man with a gun couldn’t be corroborated by anything at the scene. Officers got defendant outside and frisked him finding nothing. They searched his backpack, and that produced drugs. The government’s argument the backpack was … Continue reading
TX4: Def abandoned his totaled car when it went to auto auction; black box search didn’t need a warrant
Defendant’s car was totaled in a wreck. He never came to get it or the stuff from it. His insurance company sent it to an auto auction for disposal. The police went there and retrieved the black box information without … Continue reading
TX2: Unlawful stop-and-frisk leads to suppression of patdown and search and abandonment during flight
Defendant’s stop was without reasonable suspicion. His alleged consent was not voluntary and his flight and abandonment were not attenuated but were caused by the illegal stop and frisk. Massey v. State, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 9820 (Tex. App. – … Continue reading
IL: Def’s stop and obtaining DL was permitted by Terry so alleged illegal arrest is moot point
Officers had sufficient information for a Terry stop. They arrested defendant and got his DL and identifiers. Even if the arrest was illegal, the Terry stop would not have been and the same information would have been available. Therefore, there … Continue reading
D.Ariz.: Court could order DNA test after charging
The government moved for an order requiring defendant to submit to a buccal swab for DNA to include or exclude him from certain evidence in a homicide case. “Accordingly, the Court finds that, although a buccal swab of the cheek … Continue reading
OH11: No standing in father’s cell phones even when communicating with defense experts
Defendant is charged with killing his wife. He didn’t have standing to challenge a search warrant for his father’s cell phones where attorney-client privilege in their contents was asserted because the father was communicating with expert witnesses in his case. … Continue reading