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Feedspot’s Best Legal Blogs and Websites 2023-2026,
also, firm website Top 90 Criminal Law Blogs 2026 -
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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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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)
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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: Excessive force
WI: During a traffic stop, officers can run the criminal history of passengers
During a traffic stop, officers can run the criminal history of passengers. State v. Pantle, 2026 Wisc. App. LEXIS 1138 (Oct. 14, 2026). Defendant’s conditional release search one week before the end of his term was based on reasonable suspicion … Continue reading
D.Kan.: Gun dislodged fleeing police dog wasn’t excludable, even if it was excessive force (which it wasn’t)
Siccing a police dog on a suspected armed and dangerous burglar that dislodged a Glock with a switch was not unreasonable. Even if it was excessive force, which it wasn’t, exclusion wouldn’t be the proper remedy. United States v. Wilhoite, … Continue reading
CA5: Ptf with dementia resisting police could be Tased
Plaintiff suffered from dementia and resisted the police. “We need not decide whether Jaso’s using the taser violated the Fourth Amendment. Even resolving any genuine factual disputes in the plaintiff’s favor, no precedent clearly forbade Jaso from deploying his taser … Continue reading
D.Haw.: Ex parte communications about SW issuance don’t require later recusal
The fact there were ex parte communications with a judge about a wiretap warrant doesn’t require recusal of the judge. United States v. Kobayashi, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 220121 (D. Haw. Sep. 28, 2026). Plaintiff can’t show causation for his … Continue reading
CA3: Coast-to-coast collective knowledge
Investigators in Pennsylvania could rely on another investigator at UCLA and combine their information for probable cause. United States v. Carter, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 29575 (3d Cir. Sep. 25, 2026). Petitioner’s 2255 Franks challenge fails to “plausibly allege” falsity. … Continue reading
GA: No case says SW required to ask for cell phone password
Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not arguing that a warrant was required for a request for a cell phone password. No case anywhere says that’s required. Reynolds v. State, 2026 Ga. LEXIS 303 (Sep. 22, 2026). The inventory search of … Continue reading
M.D.Fla.: Unidentified pills in driver’s lap may have been RS but it wasn’t PC for arrest
Defendant was stopped for speeding, and he was arrested for drugs based on unidentified pills found in his lap when the officer looked in. That might have been reasonable suspicion, but it wasn’t probable cause. Therefore, the arrest and car … Continue reading
WA: Sweat patch as condition of release violated state constitution’s privacy provision
The court imposing a sweat patch on plaintiff violated his state constitutional privacy rights. Lesser intrusive measures are required. Bailey-Cobb v. Snohomish Cty. Dist. Court, 2026 Wash. App. LEXIS 1871 (Aug. 17, 2026). Plaintiff stated a claim for his severe … Continue reading
N.D.Ohio: Dog sniff during initial records check did not extend the stop
The stop was not extended by the drug dog that arrived almost immediately and the sniff was done while the records check was going on. Alternatively, there was reasonable suspicion for it. United States v. Billips, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS … Continue reading
MT: Exigency is found in the totality of circumstances
In a domestic dispute, officers had exigent circumstances to enter on the totality of circumstances. Defendant challenged them one-by-one, but the totality applies. State v. Friscia, 2026 MT 158 (July 21, 2026). It was not reasonably subject to dispute that … Continue reading
DE: Warrantless entry in DUI case unreasonable
Warrantless entry to detain a DUI suspect was unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Claiming exigency isn’t enough. State v. Beasley, 2026 Del. C.P. LEXIS 8 (Del. C.P. June 16, 2026). This defendant has no reasonable expectation of privacy in someone … Continue reading
CA5: Accidentally shooting the man who disarmed the shooter from a residence was not a constitutional violation
“This is a tragic case of mistaken identity. A police officer believed he was targeting a gunman who had been firing on police from a residence. Instead, he shot and badly wounded a man who had disarmed the actual shooter … Continue reading
CA3: Ptf was arrested on an apparent but recalled warrant, then officers confirmed it and let him go; the arrest was reasonable
Plaintiff was arrested because the officers reasonably believed there was a warrant for his arrest. “When Vince provided documentation that the warrant had been lifted, the officers confirmed the information and released him, which was reasonable under the circumstances. Therefore, … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: PIT maneuver here was not excessive force
A PIT maneuver here was not excessive force. Defendant repeatedly refused to stop and even after attempted PIT maneuvers kept fleeing. United States v. Damons, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118141 (N.D. Ga. Apr. 2, 2026):
W.D.N.Y.: Emergency disclosure requests in Buffalo Tops grocery shooting were valid
The emergency disclosure requests (EDRs) for information about the 2022 allegedly racially motivated Tops grocery store shooting in Buffalo were valid. Officers were looking for potential co-conspirators. United States v. Gendron, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 109541 (W.D.N.Y. May 18, 2026). … Continue reading
CO: Not 4A or state constitutional violation for govt to access def’s computer via peer-to-peer sharing with BitTorrent software
Defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in files on his computer that were open for peer-to-peer sharing. Therefore, when the government used BitTorrent to access his computer, it did not violate the Fourth Amendment or the state constitution. People … Continue reading
CA10: Tribal and state court SWs: state judge wanted more information, but that didn’t make tribal warrant lack PC
Defendant lived on tribal lands with a co-occupant who was not Native American. Officers obtained two search warrants: one from a tribal court and one from a state court. The applications were identical. The state judge, however, wanted more information, … Continue reading
CA5: Officer’s touching parent’s arm to get her through a school door for four seconds was de minimis
In a school grounds dispute, a parent’s arm was grabbed for four seconds to move her through a doorway. “Under the circumstances, we cannot say that such de minimis force was ‘clearly’ excessive and unreasonable. … Dupuy knew that the … Continue reading
VA: 12 second question about drugs didn’t unreasonably prolong the stop that was going to take a while anyway
This was a traffic stop, and defendant had a suspended license. She was able to call her son to come to drive her and the car home, and she would not be arrested. The officer’s taking 12 seconds to ask … Continue reading