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- UT: State used SW to get defense expert’s computer data; ordered destroyed, but case not dismissed
- E.D.Mo.: Refusal to promptly ID oneself justified handcuffing during brief investigative detention
- OH2: Dog handler’s testimony of dog certification was sufficient to show reliability
- NY Queens: SW issuing court can narrow time to execute to avoid children at home
- WI: SnapChat’s view of 16 sec. CSAM video coming through it was private search
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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,
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Congressional Research Service:
--Electronic Communications Privacy Act (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] -
“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, Colorado Springs. 
Category Archives: Inevitable discovery
D.N.M.: Running LPN after handcuffing failed inevitable discovery
On the totality, defendant’s stop was without reasonable suspicion. Only after he was handcuffed did an officer run the LPN finding a warrant. The government fails on inevitable discovery here. United States v. Warner, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 210974 (D.N.M. … Continue reading
S.D.N.Y.: Incomplete series for Netflix was subject of SW
Netflix contracted with defendant to make a series. When it fell through after paying him $44M, they believed they’d been defrauded. The search warrant for what had been completed of the series was potential evidence and properly sought under the … Continue reading
CA2: RS for stop for not pulling over for emergency vehicle
Stop was valid for failing to move over for an emergency vehicle on the side of the road. United States v. Overton, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 25125 (2d Cir. Sep. 29, 2025).* Smell of marijuana from defendant’s car was probable … Continue reading
S.D.Ill.: Search of room adjoining arrest wasn’t valid as SI or protective sweep
Defendant had standing as an occasional overnight guest in his ex-girlfriend’s apartment when he was there when the police arrived to arrest him. The search of another room was neither valid as a search incident or protective sweep. Motion to … Continue reading
CA6: Govt. waived PC argument, but GFE carries the day
The government waived reliance on probable cause in the district court, but its good faith exception was presented and supports the search. United States v. Scales, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 18324 (6th Cir. July 21, 2025).* The magistrate’s R&R finding … Continue reading
E.D.N.Y.: Re-search of email in 2024 on a 2022 SW was unreasonable and not protected by GFE
The government seized seven years of defendants’ email records in 2022 but the FBI’s computer somehow lost it. So they re-searched the data in 2024. “The Government asserts that it accessed the full return of data received pursuant to the … Continue reading
N.D.Iowa: Protective sweep during SW execution not confined by the warrant, if otherwise justified
While the question is close here, the protective sweep of defendant’s house during a search warrant was reasonable on the totality. Essentially, the search warrant doesn’t define the scope of a justified protective sweep. “[T]he Fourth Amendment permits law enforcement … Continue reading
NE: PBT unnecessary for PC if it’s apparent def under influence
The officer didn’t need a PBT to have probable cause for defendant’s DUI arrest. His observation of defendant was enough. State v. Porter, 33 Neb. App. 453 (Feb. 25, 2025).* Inevitable discovery applied. The community caretaking function allowed seizure of … Continue reading
CA6: Def’s will found on his person on arrest was validly seized
Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not challenging a will defendant wrote saying he’d kill his wife then himself found on his person at the time of arrest. At least inevitable discovery applied because it would have been found in booking … Continue reading
W.D.Pa.: Inevitable discovery overcomes knock-and-announce failure
Officers arguably violated the knock-and-announce requirement by entering seconds after announcing, giving the occupants no time to respond. Still inevitable discovery applies. United States v. Baez, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21781 (W.D. Pa. Feb. 6, 2025):
MA: Community caretaking transport of juvenile permits patdown for safety
A patdown of a juvenile found with gang members being taken to his caregiver was reasonable for safety purposes under the community caretaking function. Commonwealth v. Demos D., 105 Mass. App. Ct. 193 (Jan. 17, 2025). Reasonable suspicion not required … Continue reading
N.D.Miss.: ER staff’s search of def’s clothes was private search
Defendant was taken to the ER for gunshot wounds. The hospital staff took his clothes and looked in his pockets and then turned them over to the police. This was a private search. United States v. Coleman, 2025 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
MA: SW for “controlled substances” without specifying anything in particular was overbroad
Search warrant for “controlled substances” without specifying anything in particular, including what the controlled buy allegedly was, was overbroad. In addition, the warrant wasn’t present at the search, so it can’t help limit the search [which seems kind of a … Continue reading
CA9: Inevitable discovery doesn’t apply when it’s speculative
The good faith exception doesn’t apply where binding appellate precedence doesn’t specifically authorize the officer’s actions. And, as to inevitable discovery of defendant’s cell phone seizure, it was found speculative because he happened to be at the scene and they … Continue reading
D.Neb.: SW for property not overbroad and sought in GF; it objectively was a single-family home
The officers did their due diligence before the search warrant and saw only that defendant’s property was a single-family dwelling. That’s how it appeared, that’s what public records said. Therefore, they searched in good faith. United States v. Rice, 2024 … Continue reading
KS: Ptf’s criminal case reversed and dismissed for a 4A violation was not factually innocent for wrongful conviction compensation
Plaintiff had his conviction reversed for an illegal search. On remand, the prosecutor dismissed. He sought compensation for his unlawful conviction. He gets no relief. State law only provides for compensation for the factually innocent, and that’s not this. In … Continue reading
OR: First cell phone SW found unexpected SD card, second SW was tainted by overbreadth of first
Defendant’s cell phone was seized in 2011 and an SD card was unexpectedly found with sexual images of children. When defendant questioned that, a separate search warrant was sought for the SD card. The state does not show inevitable discovery … Continue reading
Cal.4: Defense subpoena for social media records was not improperly issued and enforced; holders of records got to be heard under SCA
Denying the state’s motion to quash a criminal subpoena duces tecum issued to social media companies was not error. Under the Stored Communications Act, the trial court allowed the companies an opportunity to be heard, conducted a sufficient analysis of … Continue reading
CA5: The fact the officer was in an interstate highway drug interdiction team was unavailing because there was a lawful basis for the stop
“Rocha Nevarez’s argument that the stop was unlawful from the start because the trooper was part of a roving drug interdiction team is unavailing. The state trooper witnessed Rocha Nevarez drift over the fog line on eastbound Interstate 20 on … Continue reading