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Recent Posts
- AR: RS def rented a hotel room was sufficient for search waiver; PC not required
- LA5: No standing to challenge search of shooting victim’s cell phone in def’s possession
- N.D.Okla.: Cell phones possessed by tribal police not subject to return under Rule 41(g)
- E.D.Ark.: Landlord and tenant refused rental property inspection and SW was validly issued and protected privacy interests
- D.D.C.: Judge shopping after denial of SW inappropriate; could have appealed to DJ
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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 (26,730+ on WordPress as of 12/31/23) -
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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)
--Federal Laws Relating to Cybersecurity: Discussion of Proposed Revisions (2012)
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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)
Website design by Wally Waller, Little Rock 
Category Archives: DNA
The Crime Report: Utah Considers Legislation to Block Police From DNA Searches
The Crime Report: Utah Considers Legislation to Block Police From DNA Searches (“A new bill being drafted by Utah Representatives would block investigators from having accessibility to DNA databases when trying to solve crimes and cold cases. The bill’s organizer … Continue reading
Fox SLC: Police could be banned from accessing home DNA test data under a bill in the Utah legislature
Fox SLC: Police could be banned from accessing home DNA test data under a bill in the Utah legislature by Ben Winslow
D.V.I.: On reopening suppression hearing, govt proves inevitable discovery of def’s DNA
In a prior post, United States v. Wrensford, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138235 (D. V.I. Aug. 15, 2019), the court held that the government didn’t get the benefit of inevitable discovery of defendant’s DNA for lack of proof. The court … Continue reading
NYTimes: Pentagon Warns Military Personnel Against At-Home DNA Tests
NYTimes: Pentagon Warns Military Personnel Against At-Home DNA Tests by Heather Murphy and Mihir Zaveri (“The tests, from companies such as 23andMe and Ancestry, have become popular holiday gifts, but the military is warning service members of risks to their … Continue reading
NYTimes: What You’re Unwrapping When You Get a DNA Test for Christmas
NYTimes: What You’re Unwrapping When You Get a DNA Test for Christmas by Heather Murphy (“To what extent is giving a DNA test also a present for law enforcement?”)
Lawfare: Trump Administration Proposes Rule to Collect DNA From Detained Noncitizens
Lawfare: Trump Administration Proposes Rule to Collect DNA From Detained Noncitizens by Krista Oehlke (“The Department of Justice on Oct. 15 proposed a rule that would enable the DNA collection of noncitizens in immigration detention and the transfer of that … Continue reading
D.Vt.: PC shown for DNA sample in kidnapping case
Defendant is charged with kidnapping of a minor across state lines and interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle. The government showed probable cause and particularity for defendant’s DNA to further link him to the crime. United States v. Simpson, 2019 … Continue reading
EFF: Genetic Genealogy Company GEDmatch Acquired by Company With Ties to FBI & Law Enforcement—Why You Should Be Worried
EFF: Genetic Genealogy Company GEDmatch Acquired by Company With Ties to FBI & Law Enforcement—Why You Should Be Worried by Jennifer Lynch:
D.D.C.: Govt doesn’t show PC to connect defs to weapons to force DNA swabs
“A federal grand jury indicted Corry Blue Evans and various members of his family on multiple offenses including extortion, money laundering, and bank fraud. Pending before the Court is the government’s motion for an order to compel Corry Blue Evans … Continue reading
NE: Def’s DNA taken in prison for a felony conviction could be used in a new prosecution, and def counsel wasn’t ineffective for not challenging it
Defendant was convicted of a sex crime and was required by statute to give a DNA sample thereafter. That DNA sample linked him to the current offense. His lawyer wasn’t ineffective for not challenging its use in his case because … Continue reading
ABAJ: Genealogy sites give law enforcement a new DNA sleuthing tool, but the battle over privacy looms
ABAJ: Genealogy sites give law enforcement a new DNA sleuthing tool, but the battle over privacy looms by Jason Tashea with the story of an exoneration by reverse engineering DNA from genealogy sites to find the real killer who confessed … Continue reading
ACLU Blog: Rapid DNA Machines in Police Departments Need Regulation
ACLU Blog: Rapid DNA Machines in Police Departments Need Regulation Vera Eidelman & Jay Stanley (“Police departments around the country are beginning to deploy ‘Rapid DNA’ machines, which can take a cheek swab or other genetic sample and automatically generate … Continue reading
D.N.M.: Controlled buys that led to SW come in through 404(b) or res gestae
Under 404(b), the officers will be permitted to testify at trial to controlled buys that led to the search warrant. United States v. Martinez, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 154066 (D. N.M. Sept. 10, 2019). Defendants were stopped for speeding, and … Continue reading
DE: DNA warrant fails because affidavit for it does show how or why it could be found
“As previously noted, this Court must pay great deference to a magistrate’s determination of probable cause and must take a common-sense approach rather than a hyper-technical approach. Nonetheless, given the totality of the circumstances set forth in the Affidavit, including … Continue reading
DE: No nexus for def’s DNA to murder; search incident can’t be used to take DNA
The state’s search warrant for defendant’s DNA has zero nexus to the murder he was being investigated for on a gun. The state’s alternative argument that DNA can be collected by the search incident doctrine 11 hours later is rejected. … Continue reading
UT: SW implicitly carries authority to use reasonble force to execute it; here, taking DNA
Police had a search warrant to obtain DNA. A search warrant implies that reasonable force might have to be used to execute it. A target can’t simply refuse to comply. State v. Evans, 2019 UT App 145, 2019 Utah App. … Continue reading
WSJ: Customers Handed Over Their DNA. The Company Let the FBI Take a Look.
WSJ: Customers Handed Over Their DNA. The Company Let the FBI Take a Look. By Amy Dockser Marcus: Millions of consumers have bought home-test kits, including 1.5 million from FamilyTreeDNA. How that data is used is largely left up to … Continue reading
Above The Law: I Just Want Your DNA
Above The Law: I Just Want Your DNA by Toni Messina: Even DNA from people who do ancestral testing can find its way into police databases.
NYTimes: N.Y.P.D. Detectives Gave a Boy, 12, a Soda. He Landed in a DNA Database.
NYTimes: N.Y.P.D. Detectives Gave a Boy, 12, a Soda. He Landed in a DNA Database. by Jan Ransom and Ashley Southall: The city has 82,473 people in its database. Many of them have no idea their genetic information is there.
D.D.C.: Evidence at the detention hearing supports PC for a DNA test for defendant
Defendant was indicted and then the government sought a DNA test to connect him to the case. Based on the detention hearing, evidence showed “(1) links the defendant’s gun to the murder weapon; (2) connects scented oil vials found at … Continue reading