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- NY3: No REP in SHU surveillance
- E.D.Mich.: PC and nexus to cell phone shown by drug deal arranged on an app
- W.D.Tex.: Texas Request to Examine Statute fails under Patel
- Forbes: FinCEN Says Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) Reports Are Voluntary Following Court Decision
- S.D.W.Va.: Issuance of a criminal citation is not a seizure
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ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2017); ABA Journal Blawg 100 (2015-16) (discontinued 2018)
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by John Wesley Hall
Criminal Defense Lawyer and
Search and seizure law consultant
Little Rock, Arkansas
Contact: forhall @ aol.com / The Book
www.johnwesleyhall.com -
© 2003-24,
online since Feb. 24, 2003 Approx. 425,000 visits (non-robot) since 2012 Approx. 45,000 posts since 2003 (27,400+ on WordPress as of 7/23/24) -
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Fourth Amendment cases,
citations, and links -
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Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Resources
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (2008) (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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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 -
"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] -
“You know, most men would get discouraged by now. Fortunately for you, I am not most men!”
---Pepé Le Pew "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)
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Category Archives: Police misconduct
CA7: Police officer target of a cell phone SW stated state law claim for intrusion on seclusion for searchers leaking intimate photos of her
Plaintiff was a Joliet police officer. A search warrant was issued for her phone, and she was concerned there were intimate photos of her. The city and officers get qualified immunity for the search itself, but she states a state … Continue reading
S.D.Miss.: QI has to be applied but it should be overruled (updated)
Plaintiff’s claim that he was wrongfully stopped and searched, finding nothing, and had his newly acquired car torn apart on the side of the road still led to the officer getting qualified immunity. This case is an historical and practical … Continue reading
The Atlantic: Nothing Can Justify the Attack on Portland
The Atlantic: Nothing Can Justify the Attack on Portland by Quinta Jurecic & Benjamin Wittes (“The question of whether these arrests are appropriate has a clear answer—at least in a nation that purports to live under the rule of law.”)
LawOfficer.com: What if police were ordered to search homes in violation of the Fourth Amendment?
LawOfficer.com: What if police were ordered to search homes in violation of the Fourth Amendment? by Jim McNeff:
The Intercept: A New York Police Officer Was Caught on Camera Apparently Planting Marijuana in a Car — for the Second Time
The Intercept: A New York Police Officer Was Caught on Camera Apparently Planting Marijuana in a Car — for the Second Time by Alice Speri (“When a police officer in Staten Island was caught by his own body camera in … Continue reading
CA6: § 1983 malicious prosecution claims are made under 4A not 14A
Malicious prosecution claims are to be brought under the Fourth Amendment and not substantive due process. Davis v. Gallagher, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 6180 (6th Cir. Feb. 28, 2020). Driving with hands at the 10 and 2 position was suspect … Continue reading
Forbes: An Innocent Man Beaten By Law Enforcement Asks The Supreme Court To Give Him His Day In Court
Forbes: An Innocent Man Beaten By Law Enforcement Asks The Supreme Court To Give Him His Day In Court by Andrew Wimer, Institute for Justice (“James was completely innocent in this encounter. It was a clear case of mistaken identity. … Continue reading
NY Times: A Police Officer’s Word Convicted Them. Now He’s Charged With Murder.
NY Times: A Police Officer’s Word Convicted Them. Now He’s Charged With Murder. By Richard A. Oppel Jr. (“Houston’s top prosecutor says at least 69 people, and perhaps many more, could see their convictions overturned in the wake of a … Continue reading
SCOTUS: The estate of a young man shot and killed across the U.S.-Mexico border by a U.S. Border Patrol agent has no 4A or 5A Bivens claim.
The estate of a young man shot and killed across the U.S.-Mexico border by a U.S. Border Patrol agent for no reason has no Bivens claim for a Fourth or Fifth Amendment claim. Hernández v. Mesa, 2020 U.S. LEXIS 1361 … Continue reading
Reason: Houston D.A. Doubles the Scope of Her Case Review Following a Deadly Drug Raid Based on a Phony Affidavit
Reason: Houston D.A. Doubles the Scope of Her Case Review Following a Deadly Drug Raid Based on a Phony Affidavit by Jacob Sullum (“After declaring another man arrested by Gerald Goines ‘actually innocent,’ the Harris County district attorney says prosecutors … Continue reading
N.D.Okla.: “Actually innocent” plaintiff framed by ATF who served four years gets judgment for $5m
Plaintiff was framed by an ATF agent acting on behalf of the government because she and her family were believed to have escaped lawful prosecution for years. “Ms. Barnes was actually innocent.” The district court initially dismissed the case, and … Continue reading
WTOP: DC police officers say raising serious concerns led to retaliation
WTOP: DC police officers say raising serious concerns led to retaliation by Mike Murillo:
CNN: Two former Houston police officers indicted after botched raid that killed two people [they lied to get no-knock]
CNN: Two former Houston police officers indicted after botched raid that killed two people by Konstantin Toropin:
LA Times: Black drivers face more police stops in California, state analysis shows
LA Times: Black drivers face more police stops in California, state analysis shows by Anita Chabria (“Black drivers in some of California’s largest cities are stopped and searched by police at higher rates than white and Latino motorists, according to … Continue reading
WaPo: Authorities shot a woman during a botched raid at her home. The real suspect was already in jail.
WaPo: Authorities shot a woman during a botched raid at her home. The real suspect was already in jail. By Derek Hawkins (“Ann Rylee was curled up on her recliner, drifting back to sleep after seeing her fiance off to … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: Alleged pretext doesn’t matter where the stop is objectively reasonable and based on PC
Alleged pretext doesn’t matter where the stop is objectively reasonable. “As the Court has determined there was probable cause to support the traffic stop, the Court does not reach the issue of whether Lt. Henry had reasonable suspicion that the … Continue reading
AP: Officers shoot woman during search for man already in jail
AP: Officers shoot woman during search for man already in jail (“Officers who mistakenly entered a home trying to arrest an Alabama man who was already in jail shot a woman who was inside, news outlets reported.”)
Courthouse News Service: Ex-Houston Cop Faces Federal Charges Over Fatal Drug Raid
Courthouse News Service: Ex-Houston Cop Faces Federal Charges Over Fatal Drug Raid by Cameron Langford (“A former Houston policeman made his first appearance in federal court Wednesday to face charges that a married couple was shot dead by a SWAT … Continue reading
WaPo: ‘I got my rights to do anything I want to do’: Officer immediately fired after viral video shows him stopping black shoppers for ‘acting suspicious’ [Spending money while black]
WaPo: ‘I got my rights to do anything I want to do’: Officer immediately fired after viral video shows him stopping black shoppers for ‘acting suspicious’ by Allyson Chiu
NYTimes: Stormy Daniels Reaches $450,000 Settlement Over 2018 Strip Club Arrest
NYTimes: Stormy Daniels Reaches $450,000 Settlement Over 2018 Strip Club Arrest by Emily S. Rueb (No further comment required.)