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ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2017); ABA Journal Blawg 100 (2015-16) (discontinued 2018)
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© 2003-23,
online since Feb. 24, 2003 Approx. 350,000 visits (non-robot) since 2012 Approx. 45,000 posts since 2003 (25,700+ on WordPress as of 12/31/22)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fourth Amendment cases,
citations, and linksLatest Slip Opinions:
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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $Research Links:
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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
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NACDL’s Domestic Drone Information Center
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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!”
"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."
---Pepé Le Pew
—Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 13-14 (1948)
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Category Archives: Knock and talk
ND: Opening door of a parked and running semi when driver didn’t wake up was to gather information and was unreasonable
“Thus, we conclude law enforcement was acting outside the scope of the community caretaking function when opening the semi door and stepping onto the running boards in an attempt to gather information without first attempting to get a response from … Continue reading
E.D.Tenn.: Backyard firepit was part of curtilage
A firepit in defendant’s yard (an “outdoor living area”) was part of the curtilage. The officer, however, was lawfully on the curtilage for a knock-and-talk. United States v. Thurman, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9358 (E.D. Tenn. Jan. 19, 2023).* Sometimes … Continue reading
CA4: Def’s Facebook post and demeanor justified stop-and-frisk
Defendant’s Facebook post and his past supported reasonable suspicion for his stop and frisk of his fanny pack at a fair. He was a known member of a violent gang with a felony conviction, his house had been recently shot … Continue reading
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
OH1: GPS pings on stolen vehicle led to attempted knock-and-talk and observation of its tracks
Officers following a GPS ping on stolen vehicle with off-road tires came to defendant’s home for a knock-and-talk. Receiving no answer, the officer followed the driveway and saw three storage buildings. “Because the driveway is open to the public and … Continue reading
GA: Even if knock-and-talk was valid, expanding entry onto the curtilage wasn’t
The knock-and-talk here was reasonable in its inception, but the officer violated the curtilage by inspecting a car parked there. The state’s argument that reasonable suspicion permitted approaching the car was not raised below so it’s waived. “Furthermore, even if … Continue reading
N.D.Tex.: Knock-and-talk led to a consent search
Defendant’s knock-and-talk led to a consent search. “Courts consider six primary factors to determine whether consent to a search is knowing and voluntary: (1) the voluntariness of the defendant’s custodial status; (2) presence of coercive police procedures; (3) the extent … Continue reading
CA8: Child porn knock-and-talk leads to valid exigency-based warrantless entry
This case started with a knock-and-talk about defendant visiting websites involving commercial sex acts with children. “While talking with William Meyer outside his home, federal agents grew worried that, if he went back inside, he would destroy evidence. Rather than … Continue reading
IN: Knock-and-talk not barred by Jardines
DNA from a cold case murder was sent to a DNA genealogy company who tentatively matched defendant to the crime. Police did a trash pull and got more of a DNA match. Then they got a search warrant for his … Continue reading
CA1: 5 am knock-and-talk violated Jardines
5 am knock-and-talk with repeated entries to the property and entreaties to get plaintiff to come out of the house violated the clearly established law of Jardines. French v. Merrill, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 29679 (1st Cir. Oct. 1, 2021):
AL: Suspicious noises inside from knock-and-talk was exigency
Police knock and talk led to them hearing noises of someone rushing around inside. They could also smell marijuana from outside, and they had information of buys from inside the house. Exigency established. Hall v. State, CR-20-0394 (Ala. Crim. App. … Continue reading
MD: Anonymous DWI tip was specific and supported stop on a liquor store parking lot
“Considering the totality of the circumstances, the officers had reasonable suspicion to suspect that the defendant was engaged in drunk driving. The anonymous 911 call had sufficient indicia of reliability—the tipster alleging the drunk driving provided the make, model, and … Continue reading
TX1: Police coming to door for knock-and-talk wasn’t a trespass
Police came to defendant’s door for a knock-and-talk, and, when he opened it, the officers smelled marijuana. They went off for a search warrant. Approaching the door for a knock-and-talk was not a trespass. Howard v. State, 2021 Tex. App. … Continue reading
NE: Police have no const’l duty to fully interrogate a citizen informant
A citizen informant told police of a motorist that might need assistance, and that led to defendant’s arrest. There is no constitutional requirement for police to interrogate the citizen informant. State v. Montoya, 29 Neb. App. 563, 2021 Neb. App. … Continue reading
W.D.La.: Protective sweep for AK-47 was reasonable on knock-and-talk for weapon, denial of entry, and smelling MJ; one officer was to leave for SW
Police properly conducted a protective sweep for an AK-47 after a knock-and-talk did not gain entry. Police had an anonymous source, and defendant was an alleged felon in possession, and they went for a knock-and-talk. Defendant refused to consent, and … Continue reading
CA11: Even if warrantless monitoring of a package in def’s home violated 4A, inevitable discovery applies
Even if warrantless monitoring of a package into defendant’s house violated the Fourth Amendment, inevitable discovery applies. There was an intensive investigation and time was of the essence. The exclusionary rule should not be applied. United States v. Watkins, 2020 … Continue reading
VA: Knock-and-talk is still a valid exception for entry onto the curtilage
While entry into the curtilage is presumptively unreasonable without a warrant, Collins v. Virginia, 138 S. Ct. 1663, 1670 (2018), there is still implied license for police to enter for a knock-and-talk. Saal v. Commonwealth, 2020 Va. App. LEXIS 241 … Continue reading
