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- VA: Body cam video of valid arrest would not be suppressed
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- Reason: No Warrant, No Suspicion, No Problem: Flock and Border Cellphone Searches Excluded From 4th Amendment Rules
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- N.D.Ohio: Car in driveway was on curtilage and plain view prohibited
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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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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)
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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
CA4: Trash container in open at curb was not on curtilage under Dunn factors
Trash at the curb for pickup was not on the curtilage under Dunn. The area was wide open. United States v. Lipford, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 12697 (4th Cir. Apr. 28, 2021). Factual disputes aside, this much is undisputed: “The … Continue reading
NYT: Split-Second Decisions: How a Supreme Court Case Shaped Modern Policing
NYT: Split-Second Decisions: How a Supreme Court Case Shaped Modern Policing by David D. Kirkpatrick (“Officers using deadly force rely on a legal doctrine set forth decades ago. Now, the movement launched by the death of George Floyd is trying … Continue reading
M.D.Pa.: Calling for backup before asking motorist for consent was the “Rodriguez moment” but it was with RS
“‘[T]he proper inquiry is not whether a traffic violation actually occurred, but rather whether there are facts presented that would lead a reasonable officer to believe that a violation may have occurred.’ … ‘This standard is not particularly rigorous, as … Continue reading
D.Neb.: CI report led to controlled buy and that was PC
A CI with a reliable track record reported defendant was selling ecstacy. That alone was likely at least reasonable suspicion, but then police used him to make a controlled buy, and that was probable cause for the stop. United States … Continue reading
E.D.Mo.: Constitutionality of window tint statute doesn’t have anything to do with PC for a stop for overtinting
Even if Missouri’s window tint statute was unconstitutional, something in doubt, it wouldn’t have any affect on the reasonableness of defendant’s stop for violating it, and the exclusionary rule would not apply. Factually, the officer said he couldn’t see into … Continue reading
W.D.Mich.: 1983 suit over state detention without bond barred by Younger abstention
Plaintiff detainee’s 1983 case he was being held without bond in a state prosecution is barred by Younger absention. Snowden v. Schipper, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76275 (W.D. Mich. Apr. 20, 2021). “Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable … Continue reading
W.D.Pa.: Generic motion to suppress denied
Defendant’s general motion to suppress is denied. United States v. Knox, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72716 (W.D. Pa. Apr. 15, 2021). “In short, when viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to appellant, reasonable minds could only conclude that … Continue reading
CA9: Inaccuracies in SW’s place to be searched didn’t misdirect officers; QI applies
The inaccuracies in the search warrant the officer sought weren’t enough to misidentify the place to be searched. Therefore, defendants didn’t violate clearly established law. Hill v. County of Benewah, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 10781 (9th Cir. Apr. 15, 2021).* … Continue reading
MT: Jury instructions on police negligence adequately explained const’l tort theory
The estate’s theory of police negligence was submitted to the jury and it adequately explained plaintiff’s constitutional tort theory. The defense relied on community caretaking function. The jury found the entry reasonable leading to the use of deadly force, and … Continue reading
CA7: Shooting ptf after firing a gun in the air around a crowd of people still entitled to qualified immunity
The defendant officer’s use of deadly force against the armed plaintiff who fired a gun into the air around many people apparently to attempt to break up a scuffle led to him getting shot multiple times in seconds. Someone else … Continue reading
CA6: Pre-Carpenter cell site simulator use reasonable by GFE
Defendant’s 2255 claim that the government used a cell site simulator prior to Carpenter to capture his unlisted burner phone numbers is saved by the good faith exception. Powell v. United States, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 9850 (6th Cir. Apr. … Continue reading
CA11: Tasing someone ignoring three commands to get on the ground was reasonable for QI purposes
“Measuring the facts of this case against the above factors, Deputy Ward acted reasonably when he used force against Duncan after she did not obey his orders to get on the ground. Even accepting as true that Duncan did not … Continue reading
CA5: A jury will have to decide reasonableness of excessive force used against a suicidal man
A jury needs to decide whether this officer’s use of deadly force on a suicidal suspect was reasonable. it was “clearly established — and possibly even obvious — that an officer violates the Fourth Amendment if he shoots an unarmed, … Continue reading
D.N.M.: Business records SW was particular where limited to firearms offense
The business records search here was not overbroad as enabling a search of all records; just for violations of firearms offenses under 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1). It was particular enough. United States v. Warner, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62302 (D. … Continue reading
CA2: Slamming head of nonresisting arrestee excessive
The district court erred in entering summary judgment for officers in an excessive force claim. It was clearly established that slamming an unresisting detainee’s head into a car doorframe was excessive. Ketcham v. City of Mt. Vernon, 2021 U.S. App. … Continue reading
SCOTUS: Shooting at and hitting a person fleeing is a 4A seizure: “The required corporal seizing or touching the defendant’s body … can be as readily accomplished by a bullet as by the end of a finger.”
Shooting at and hitting plaintiff with the intent to stop her flight is an attempted seizure under the Fourth Amendment. She made it 75 miles to a hospital, was airlifted back, and was arrested. (Qualified immunity is not decided here.) … Continue reading
CA9 & NY2: Use of force reasonable as a matter of law
“McLane’s Fourth Amendment claim. The government had a strong interest in the use of force given that McLane (1) was suspected of having committed several serious and dangerous crimes, (2) could reasonably have been thought to pose an immediate threat … Continue reading