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Recent Posts
- CA8: Admission of anonymous tip that led to stop violated Confrontation Clause
- CO: Anonymous report of student smoking pot in school justified backpack search
- CA6: CI’s lie to get into def’s house to video him making a drug deal with the CI didn’t violate 4A
- TN: Def lived in a van left wide open in a public area, but it didn’t belong to him, so no REP as to interior
- VI: Despite ubiquity of cell phones, nexus has to be shown to alleged crime
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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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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)
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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: Reasonableness
W.D.La.: Can’t be ineffective for not arguing state constitution in federal criminal case
Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not arguing the state constitution in a federal criminal case. United States v. Powell, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 256220 (W.D. La. Dec. 10, 2025). “Here, the affidavit detailed the information on which the officer relied, … Continue reading
S.D.Ill.: Search of car after stop for obstructed windshield valid under 4A despite state law saying officers couldn’t search
Illinois law holds that a car cannot be searched for violation of the windshield obstruction statute. Defendant’s car ultimately was, and the court finds that the search comported with the Fourth Amendment and state law didn’t grant greater rights here. … Continue reading
S.D.Fla.: Murder for hire scheme was exigency for entry; SW issued a day late not automatically stale
A murder for hire scheme was exigency for a warrantless search. Here, the officers thought the firearm would be moved imminently on December 31, 2024, but the warrant wasn’t signed until after midnight January 1, 2025. It wasn’t automatically stale, … Continue reading
IA: Refusing to get out of the car when directed is RS
Note to sov cits: Refusing to get out of the car when directed is reasonable suspicion. State v. Carter, 2025 Iowa App. LEXIS 983 (Nov. 13, 2025).* “Even the most seemingly trivial traffic infraction or equipment violation gives a peace … Continue reading
GA: SW to photograph a tattoo was reasonable
A search warrant to photograph a tattoo was reasonable. Here, a sex assault assailant was described as having a particular tattoo, and defendant was the suspect. They found a matching tattoo. Grier v. State, 2025 Ga. App. LEXIS 484 (Oct. … Continue reading
IN: No REP in bank records in securities investigation
The state securities department subpoenaed petitioner’s bank records. He has no privacy interest in them under the Fourth or Fifth Amendment. Peabody v. State Office of the Sec’y of State Sec. Div., 2025 Ind. App. LEXIS 328 (Oct. 3, 2025). … Continue reading
CA11: Officers reasonably concluded that this was one residence without apartments
“At the time the officers swore out and executed the warrant, the officers believed 4279 Violet Circle was a single-family home that Schmitz occupied.” The officers’ investigation for months never indicated that the premises included three efficiency apartments. “In sum, … Continue reading
E.D.Ark.: Parole search waiver included curtilage of house
Plaintiff’s parole search waiver for his house includes his curtilage. Kennedy v. White Cty., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180862 (E.D. Ark. Sep. 16, 2025). Admission of a photograph of defendant’s house taken from off the property did not violate the … Continue reading
CA10: Having the driver get out is within the scope of any traffic stop
Having the driver come back to the patrol car is a basic safety concern within the scope of any traffic stop. United States v. Brown, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 23113 (10th Cir. Sep. 8, 2025). “Voorhis’s false arrest claim is … Continue reading
MA: 123-day delay between cell phone seizure and SW was unreasonable here
Balancing the interests involved, the trial court found that the 123-day delay between seizure of defendant’s cell phone and seeking a search warrant for it was unreasonable. On de novo review, “That notwithstanding, there is no Massachusetts precedent upholding as … Continue reading
IN: Drug dog’s instinctive entry into car is reasonable, but this was facilitated by the officer and wasn’t
Indiana adopts the drug dog rule that “a K9’s instinctive entry into a vehicle does not implicate the Fourth Amendment so long as it is not directed, encouraged, or facilitated by officers.” This one was, and without probable cause, and … Continue reading
ID: Extraterritorial arrest doesn’t violate state constitution
An extraterritorial arrest does not violate the search and seizure provision of the state constitution, like it doesn’t under the Fourth Amendment. The remedies for statutory violations aren’t in the exclusionary rule. State v. Satterfield, 2025 Ida. App. LEXIS 37 … Continue reading
CA3: Incidental conversation during a traffic stop about def’s watch and job didn’t unreasonably extend the stop
Incidental conversation during a traffic stop about defendant’s watch and job didn’t unreasonably extend the stop. United States v. Ross, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 21097 (3d Cir. Aug. 19, 2025):
D.Mont.: Asking driver during traffic stop about probationary status not unreasonable
During this traffic stop, the officer asked defendant about his probationary status, and this did not unreasonably extend the stop. It relates to officer safety. United States v. Malloy, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159841 (D. Mont. Aug. 18, 2025):
CA4: Dog sniff at apt. door here violated no REP
A dog sniff at defendant’s apartment door in a multi-unit complex didn’t violate any reasonable expectation of privacy. (Two unpublished cases in this circuit said that; this one’s published.) United States v. Johnson, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 19648 (4th Cir. … Continue reading
CA8 denies en banc 9-2 on a Rodriguez issue
The Eighth Circuit denies rehearing en banc in a Rodriguez case [remember Rodriguez came from the Eighth Circuit] with two dissenters: United States v. Puckett, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 19064 (8th Cir. July 29, 2025), Grasz with Kelly dissenting:
D.Conn.: Despite officers’ not thinking there was apparent authority to consent, the consenter did have that authority
“The Court recognizes that Officer Nunez and a female officer expressed ambivalence as to whether N.H. could consent to a search when she was not the registered owner of the Camry.” Still, she had apparent authority to consent. United States … Continue reading
WA: Probation searches don’t violate WA Const.
Probation searches are a codified exception to the warrant requirement and not in violation of the Washington constitution. State v. Smith, 2025 Wash. App. LEXIS 1418 (July 21, 2025). Leaving defendant’s vehicle on a parking lot potentially for days was … Continue reading
N.D.Ga.: No REP in a prison inmate’s cell phone
There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in the use of a cell phone in prison. United States v. Brandt, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129412 (N.D. Ga. June 13, 2025). This line in defendant’s PSR leads to denial of his … Continue reading
CO: Three-day delay between seizure of defendant’s car and getting SW for it was reasonable
Three-day delay between seizure of defendant’s car and getting a warrant to search was reasonable. People v. Mills, 2025 CO 47, 2025 Colo. LEXIS 572 (June 30, 2025). Defendant’s cell phone was linked to his prostitution/human trafficking case, so there … Continue reading