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- FL5: State failed to show justification for delay for dog sniff
- TechCrunch: US accuses American of allegedly wiping his phone using a ‘duress’ password during border search
- MI: Possession of MJ that’s only a civil infraction doesn’t justify search of car under automobile exception
- NY1: 911 call about shooting in apartment building led officers to def’s apartment and exigency justified entry
- UT: Failure to include nighttime search request in SW in violation of rule didn’t require suppression
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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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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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"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: Arrest or entry on arrest
CA7: A temporary “want” not based on PC or a judicial determination wasn’t a basis for entry
The city here uses a “temporary” want, not based on probable cause, to enter plaintiff’s home. Plaintiff stated a claim for failure to train that a warrant is required, not something based on the officer’s action. Milbeck v. George, 2026 … Continue reading
OH8: Smell of MJ in car alone no longer PC
The smell of marijuana in a car alone isn’t probable cause in Ohio anymore because of legalization, quoting State v. Gray, 2025-Ohio-4607, ¶ 61 (1st Dist. Oct. 3, 2025). State v. Tucker, 2026-Ohio-1045 (8th Dist. Mar. 26, 2026). Challenging only … Continue reading
N.D.W.Va.: Bare allegations of a Franks violation without a significant offer of proof is conjecture
Bare allegations of a Franks violation without a significant offer of proof is conjecture. Kokinda v. Foster, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60028 (N.D.W. Va. Mar. 23, 2026).* Exigent circumstances justified the seizure of defendant’s cell phone, not just plain view, … Continue reading
Cal.4: Ordering def out of house to arrest at gunpoint on RS unreasonable
Arresting defendant in his house but from outside with guns drawn and ordering him out on only reasonable suspicion was unreasonable. Where the arrestee is controls, not the officers. People v. Perez, 2026 Cal. App. LEXIS 176 (4th Dist. Mar. … Continue reading
DC: Officer’s unreasonable mistake of law did not make the stop reasonable under Heien
The officer’s unreasonable mistake of law on windshield tint (“can’t have tint at all” v. it can have some) did not make the stop reasonable under Heien. Griffin v. United States, 2026 D.C. App. LEXIS 95 (Mar. 19, 2026). Defendant’s … Continue reading
NY Co.: Pulling def out of his doorway when he opened his door was not a violation of Payton
Pulling defendant out of his doorway when he opened his door was not a violation of Payton. People v. Honyghan, 2026 NYLJ LEXIS 435 (N.Y. Co. Mar. 18, 2026). “The arresting officers’ body-worn camera videos reveal that Plaintiff was visibly … Continue reading
ID: AW for suspected passenger allowed police to enter curtilage to look in parked car at night
Officers could enter defendant’s curtilage to look in his just parked car at night. They had an arrest warrant for a suspected passenger and they couldn’t tell whether she was in the car before it was parked under Payton. State … Continue reading
CO: Vague description in arrest warrant didn’t justify def’s stop
The description of an arrestee as a 30ish male with the last name starting in “Mc” didn’t justify defendant’s detention in a park. People v. McGee, 2026 CO 14 (Mar. 9, 2026):
NYCo.: Arrests can’t be suppressed
“Defendant was charged with committing specific acts of violence against an identifiable person, who reported the incident. An arrest itself cannot be suppressed as fruit of the poisonous tree, and defendant himself was not a suppressible fruit. Nor was he … Continue reading
CA8: Police with arrest warrant could enter third-party premises to arrest defendant
Police with a warrant for defendant could enter a third party’s premises to arrest him on probable cause that he was present. Under Steagald, defendant had no more reasonable expectation of privacy in the third party’s premises than the owner … Continue reading
CA11: 4A doesn’t require “in the presence of the officer” for misdemeanor arrest
While Georgia law requires a misdemeanor offense be in the presence of the officer, the Fourth Amendment does not. The arrest was constitutionally valid. Middlebrooks v. Kasmar, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 5855 (11th Cir. Feb. 27, 2026). There was information … Continue reading
N.D.Iowa: When an officer has PC for a stop and search, the 4A doesn’t require that it happen at the earliest possible time
When an officer has probable cause for a stop and search, the Fourth Amendment doesn’t require that it happen at the earliest possible time. It doesn’t become “stale” that fast, and here it was ongoing: driving on a suspended DL. … Continue reading
KY: Arrest warrant isn’t constitutionally required for a felony arrest
An arrest warrant isn’t constitutionally required for a felony arrest. Hernandez v. Commonwealth, 2026 Ky. LEXIS 7 (Feb. 19, 2026). There was no rationale entitlement to discovery of the name of the informant in this case, so defense counsel wasn’t … Continue reading
E.D.Pa.: Warrant not required to be shown at time of arrest
The Fourth Amendment does not require a warrant be provided at the time of arrest, and an arrest can occur with probable cause and without a warrant in felony cases. Mister v. Marino, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33508 (E.D. Pa. … Continue reading
NY: Coercing a suspect out of his home for a warrantless arrest violates Payton
Coercing a suspect out of his home for a warrantless arrest violates Payton. [But here, the error is harmless on the murder and assault charges.] People v. Shaw, 2026 NY Slip Op 00961, 2026 N.Y. LEXIS 130 (Feb. 19, 2026):
CA5: Cardiac arrest during police training wasn’t a 4A seizure
“Appellant Brittney Kennedy appeals the dismissal of constitutional claims she brought on behalf of her deceased husband, Marquis Kennedy, who suffered a cardiac arrest after a self-defense simulation for police-cadet training. She claims the district court erred by concluding that … Continue reading
Atlanta Black Star: ‘Make That Make Sense’: Family of Black Girl Frisked, Cuffed and Detained By Michigan Cops Pursuing a 40-Year-Old White Suspect Settles Lawsuit
Atlanta Black Star: ‘Make That Make Sense’: Family of Black Girl Frisked, Cuffed and Detained By Michigan Cops Pursuing a 40-Year-Old White Suspect Settles Lawsuit by Jill Jordan Sieder (“The family of a Black girl who at age 11 was … Continue reading
NM: Name on an older warrant list wasn’t individualized suspicion when stop occurred
The officer believed defendant’s name was on an old warrant list they get from the magistrates once every week or two. The age of the list denied individualized suspicion. It wasn’t checked before the stop (even though it turned out … Continue reading
E.D.Mo.: Search for shell casings in curtilage exceeded community caretaking function entry
A shotspotter alert brought the police to this house, and the police went around looking for signs of anyone that might be injured. Within 20 seconds it was apparent there wasn’t, but then they looked for spent shell casings in … Continue reading
D.D.C.: A dozen officers involved in traffic stop slow walked it for drug dog
A dozen officers purposely delayed the traffic stop for a dog sniff. “The Government has failed to show that police conducted this stop in a reasonably diligent manner. To the contrary, Officer Brennan’s decision to delegate all four warnings to … Continue reading