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- E.D.Tenn.: Application for SW was considered in detention ruling
- TN: RS didn’t develop to continue stop; second stop based on first suppressed
- CA4: Traffic stop immediately became firearms investigation; suppressed
- CA10: Disagreement over spelling of street name didn’t make warrant fail particularity; GFE at least would apply
- VA: Statutory requirement to provide SW papers only applies to “places of abode”
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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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Stringrays (ACLU No. Cal.) (pdf)
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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) -
“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: Rule 41(g) / Return of property
FL5: Error to deny without a hearing a facially sufficient motion for return of property
Defendant’s motion for return of property was facially sufficient for a hearing, and the circuit court erred in denying it without a hearing. Peterson v. State, 2018 Fla. App. LEXIS 8861 (Fla. 5th DCA June 22, 2018). Defense counsel wasn’t … Continue reading
D.S.C.: One innocently driving a stolen vehicle generally doesn’t have standing in it, but he has to show his innocent status
One innocently driving a stolen vehicle generally doesn’t have standing in it. If, however, he innocently buys a stolen vehicle and then he’s stopped in it, it’s his burden to show that he was an innocent purchaser to acquire standing. … Continue reading
NY3: No statutory or const’l requirement issuing magistrate’s name be printed on SW papers
Nothing requires the issuing magistrate’s name be printed on the search warrant papers, the affidavit or warrant. People v. Douglas, 2018 NY Slip Op 04388, 2018 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 4360 (3d Dept. June 14, 2018). A search warrant was … Continue reading
Ct.Claims: Motion to dismiss denied: “plaintiffs sufficiently allege actions which are inconsistent with the exercise of police power”
Plaintiffs alleged a Fifth Amendment taking because the government took their truck to do a drug operation. The claim survives a motion to dismiss. “Because plaintiffs do not challenge the legality of the government’s action, we deny the jurisdictional challenge. … Continue reading
GA: Where no violation of clear statute, no Heien reasonable mistake of law defense for state
Defendant did not violate the traffic statute that the officer stopped him for. Therefore, Heien’s reasonable mistake of law and good faith doesn’t apply. Moreover, there is no good faith exception in Georgia. Harris v. State, 2018 Ga. App. LEXIS … Continue reading
D.Idaho: Movant failed to show govt had “callous regard” of rights for early return of property seized
The DEA seized unapproved pain relief products by a search warrant, and the company from which it was seized moved for return of the property. The court finds company hasn’t satisfied the requirements for equitable jurisdiction for return of property … Continue reading
D.Conn.: 2255 isn’t the remedy for return of property; it’s Rule 41(g)
Defense counsel isn’t ineffective for not appealing a conviction when the only real remedy he seeks is for return of property which would be by a Rule 41(g) motion which hasn’t been filed. Dismissed without prejudice. Green v. United States, … Continue reading
D.Kan.: FPD has standing to join in Rule 41(g) litigation to recover illegally recorded attorney jail calls and meetings
The Federal Public Defender has standing to participate in Rule 41(g) litigation to recover the recordings of attorney-client meetings and telephone calls that were recorded at a private prison used as a federal detention center. The government’s concerns over standing … Continue reading
Guam: If no criminal case pending, motion for return of property can be treated as a new civil action
If a criminal case is not pending, a motion for return of property is treated as a new civil action, and should proceed accordingly (following state and federal cases, most recently Pristine Pre-Owned Auto, Inc. v. Courrier, 236 W. Va. … Continue reading
D.Me.: SW for jail cell produced evidence; USAO ordered to return some stuff, but sheriff not because USAO can’t be ordered to get it from them
There was a search warrant for personal papers in a jail, and some came into the possession of the USAO but two pages did not. They were needed for litigation. The USAO is ordered to return the copies it has, … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: Rule 41(g) motion denied for failure to show entitlement to seized property
For Rule 41(g) motion to return property: “Flemming has failed to prove that he is a ‘person aggrieved by an unlawful search and seizure.’ In his motion, Flemming does not challenge the legality of the search and seizure in question. … Continue reading
M.D.La.: Bench warrant surfacing for def made pat down legal by inevitable discovery even if frisk invalid
Officers responded to a wellness check and found two people passed out in a car. One couldn’t be roused, but defendant could and he was removed from the car and patted down for officer safety. The patdown was reasonable. Even … Continue reading
M.D.Tenn.: Laches applies to Rule 41(g) motions for return of property
The doctrine of laches applies to Rule 41(g) motions for return of property. The seizure of defendant’s property was 2003. Aside from other difficulties (like forfeiture), defendant just waited too long. United States v. Kimball, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136952 … Continue reading
M.D.Fla.: Def failed to show equitable right to return of property under 41(g) while he’s in jail
Defendant failed to make a showing for equitable relief for return of property under Rule 41(g) while he’s in jail. United States v. Rehaif, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61019 (M.D. Fla. April 4, 2017):
GA: Statute on return of property must be followed; can’t apply to court first
In a juvenile proceeding, recovery of the juvenile’s cell phone required following a statutory procedure which wasn’t. One can’t just apply to the court first. The further claim that retention of the phone violated the Fourth Amendment wasn’t raised below … Continue reading
NE: Return of property not required until after post-conviction is concluded
As long as post-conviction proceedings or a federal prosecution are possible, the state has the ability to keep the evidence without return to the defendant. The state statute says “may” not shall. State v. Buttercase, 296 Neb. 304, 2017 Neb. … Continue reading
W.D.Ark.: Def counsel has apparent authority to receive property returned after arrest
In a civil action for return of property: “In the specific context of the disposition of property, district courts have found that the government acts appropriately when it disposes of property in a manner consistent with actions or representations made … Continue reading
D.Nev.: Govt responds it won’t use evidence seized at trial so motion for return of property or to suppress granted
The government seized defendant’s iPad and but didn’t search it because they didn’t have a password. Finally, they decided not to attempt to use it as evidence, so the motion for return of property is granted. The government didn’t intend … Continue reading
OH2: Property can’t be returned when it still has evidentiary value
“There was little evidence regarding the floppy disks, CDs, and Rolodex, but the burden was on Webber to demonstrate that she was entitled to their return. Upon review of the record, the evidence before the trial court supported a conclusion … Continue reading
E.D.Cal.: No right to return of iPad and iPhone as long as they have evidentiary value, including through appeal
Defendant does not have a right to return of seized property under Rule 41(g) as long as there is potential evidentiary value, including through appeal. Defendant does not claim that his iPad and iPhone weren’t illegally seized to begin with; … Continue reading