Archives
-
Recent Posts
-
-
ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2015-17) (then discontinued)
-
-
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 -
© 2003-25,
online since Feb. 24, 2003 Approx. 500,000 visits (non-robot) since 2012 Approx. 47,000 posts since 2003 (30,000+ on WordPress as of 12/31/24) -
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fourth Amendment cases,
citations, and links -
Latest Slip Opinions:
U.S. Supreme Court (Home)
S.Ct. Shadow Docket Database
Federal Appellate Courts Opinions
First Circuit
Second Circuit
Third Circuit
Fourth Circuit
Fifth Circuit
Sixth Circuit
Seventh Circuit
Eighth Circuit
Ninth Circuit
Tenth Circuit
Eleventh Circuit
D.C. Circuit
Federal Circuit
Foreign Intell.Surv.Ct.
FDsys, many district courts, other federal courts
Military Courts: C.A.A.F., Army, AF, N-M, CG, SF
State courts (and some USDC opinions)
Google Scholar
Advanced Google Scholar
Google search tips
LexisWeb
LII State Appellate Courts
LexisONE free caselaw
Findlaw Free Opinions
To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
Research Links:
Supreme Court:
SCOTUSBlog
S. Ct. Docket
Solicitor General's site
SCOTUSreport
Briefs online (but no amicus briefs)
Oyez Project (NWU)
"On the Docket"–Medill
S.Ct. Monitor: Law.com
S.Ct. Com't'ry: Law.com
-
General (many free):
LexisWeb
Google Scholar | Google
LexisOne Legal Website Directory
Crimelynx
Lexis.com $
Lexis.com (criminal law/ 4th Amd) $
Findlaw.com
Findlaw.com (4th Amd)
Westlaw.com $
F.R.Crim.P. 41
www.fd.org
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
Electronic Frontier Foundation
NACDL’s Domestic Drone Information Center
Electronic Privacy Information Center
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, 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] -
“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) -
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, Little Rock 
Category Archives: Probation / Parole search
CA8: Halfway house resident’s cell phone subject to suspicionless search
Defendant’s cell phone was subject to search when he resided at a residential reentry program after release from an FCI. Child porn was found on the phone. Defendant’s reliance on Riley’s warrant requirement is misplaced. Yes, this is a cell … Continue reading
M.D.Fla.: Probation condition doesn’t permit warrantless tracking of defendant’s cell phone as a matter of course. If he’s a fugitive, yes, by court order
Probation condition doesn’t permit warrantless tracking of defendant’s cell phone as a matter of course. When he’s a fugitive, however, it can be. United States v. Ponce, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119550 (M.D. Fla. July 31, 2017):
CA9: A valid parole search includes detaining the property long enough to search it
Defendant was on a parole search condition, and that included searching any property under his control and even detaining that property long enough to do it. United States v. Miller, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 14283 (9th Cir. Aug. 3, 2017). … Continue reading
CA9: Officer’s call to def’s PO during stop didn’t unreasonably prolong it, and PO requested search
The officer’s call to defendant’s PO during his traffic stop did not unreasonably prolong the stop. The PO separately had reasonable suspicion for a search and requested one. United States v. Seugasala, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 14173 (9th Cir. Aug. … Continue reading
WA: Random UAs valid as condition of probation for DUI
“At issue in this case is whether a court may require a probationer convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) to submit to random urinalysis testing (UAs) for controlled substances. In particular, this issue centers on whether this testing violates … Continue reading
E.D.N.C.: Where probation search didn’t comply with state RS requirement, federal court suppresses it
The state probation search of defendant’s premises did not comply with the state statute requiring reasonable suspicion, so the court does not consider the constitutionality of the search. The search was not for supervision purposes because his supervising officer did … Continue reading
E.D.N.C.: Parole searches aren’t at all limited to only def’s parole officer doing it
It is not even a reasonable argument that only defendant’s PO can search him under a warrantless search condition. United States v. Smith, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105049 (E.D. N.C. July 7, 2017). Defendant was seized when the officer’s blue … Continue reading
S.D.Cal.: Probation search waiver can’t be relied on when officers didn’t know about it at time of search
In a civil case relying on a probation search, “‘[a] Fourth Amendment search waiver cannot provide a justification for a search of a probationer where the officers were unaware of the waiver before they undertook the search.’ United States v. … Continue reading
CA9: Hotel room was def’s “premises” and the parole search was reasonable
A hotel room rented by defendant’s girlfriend where they checked in as a couple was defendant’s “premises.” There was probable cause to believe it was defendant’s premises and under his control because his clothes were inside, and the girlfriend said … Continue reading
NY4: Probation condition that def consent to searches reasonably related to his crime and rehabilitation
Defendant’s probation condition that he consent to searches is reasonably related to his crime and rehabilitation. People v. King, 2017 NY Slip Op 04618, 2017 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 4686 (4th Dept. June 9, 2017).* “Giving due weight to each … Continue reading
DE: Positive probation drug screen 15 days earlier, with nothing more, wasn’t RS for a probation search of the house
Positive probation drug screen 15 days earlier, with nothing more, wasn’t reasonable suspicion for a probation search of the house. State v. Fax, 2017 Del. Super. LEXIS 270 (June 2, 2017). Geolocation information from a coconspirator’s cell phone was used … Continue reading
N.D.Cal.: It’s not for LEO to second guess a probation search condition’s validity or application
If the probation search condition applies on its face, and even if the search is for general law enforcement purposes, it’s not for the searching officer to inquire into the details of whether there might be some argument behind the … Continue reading
LA2: UT blanket probation search condition applied to probationer transferred to LA
Defendant was on probation out of Utah and supervised in Louisiana. His PO received information that he might have child pornography on his cell phone. During a PO visit, he was told to get his cell phone and computer out … Continue reading
N.D.N.Y.: Def’s prior drug involvement justified a drug search condition on supervised release
Defendant’s prior convictions for drugs from age 17-22 justified a drug search condition on supervised release. United States v. Betsy-Jones, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75157 (N.D. N.Y. April 28, 2017), adopted, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74113 (N.D. N.Y. May 16, … Continue reading
Cal.4th: Passenger’s parole status permitted search of entire passenger compartment
Defendant was in a car with a parolee. After a valid stop, the parolee gave a false name, and the officer eventually got the right name and parole status. A search of the whole car was permissible even though the … Continue reading
NC statute that probation search be for “purpose” of probation is a limitation on the search power
A 2009 amendment to the state probation search condition required that the search serve the purpose of the supervision, so it’s not carte blanche for a probation search. The trial court’s order refusing to suppress is reversed. State v. Powell, … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: Affidavit for SW and other things showed def’s standing in two cell phones
The search warrant affidavit showed defendant’s standing in two cell phones that were seized. The phones were referred to as belonging to defendant, and she claimed them when asked about them but disclaimed ownership in others. Finally, she proffered that … Continue reading
D.Ariz.: Trailer on blocks with no means around to pull it not subject to automobile exception
An RV trailer elevated on a block with nothing to pull it around is not subject to the automobile exception. United States v. Maley, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69797 (D.Ariz. May 5, 2017). A detailed tip about defendant on supervised … Continue reading
E.D.N.Y.: 791 days of GPS tracking of a parolee suppressed
Back on December 29th was this post: E.D.N.Y.: 791 days of GPS tracking of a parolee to catch others in a DTO was [somehow] not unreasonable. On review, Judge Weinstein finds that intense tracking violated the Fourth Amendment and there … Continue reading
D.Conn.: Search incident included under the bed next to defendant
Search incident included a search under a bed near where the defendant was arrested, and cocaine was found there. The court rejects protective sweep under the bed as an alternative. United States v. Bohannon, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65446 (D. … Continue reading