May 2026 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Archives
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Recent Posts
- NY Columbia Co.: Alleged excessive nervousness when multiple police cars arrive at a traffic stop doesn’t add to RS
- CA4: Backpack dumped in flight in grandmother’s yard was abandoned
- GA: Virtually all-inclusive list of items to be seized wasn’t overbroad
- CA4: Dist.Ct. erred in applying search incident to arrest to suppress bag when inventory was inevitable
- OR: Even if original served warrant wasn’t the one returned, it doesn’t warrant suppression
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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 -
Latest Slip Opinions:
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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
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LII State Appellate Courts
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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
Research Links:
Supreme Court:
SCOTUSBlog
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Solicitor General's site
SCOTUSreport
Briefs online (but no amicus briefs)
Oyez Project (NWU)
"On the Docket"–Medill
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S.Ct. Com't'ry: Law.com
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General (many free):
LexisWeb
Google Scholar | Google
LexisOne Legal Website Directory
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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)
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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)
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)
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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: Surveillance technology
The Verge: California malls have been feeding license plate data to a national network linked with ICE
The Verge: California malls have been feeding license plate data to a national network linked with ICE by Russell Brandom: A number of California malls appear to be feeding data back to a national license-plate reader network linked to Immigration … Continue reading
NYT: How Smart TVs in Millions of U.S. Homes Track More Than What’s on Tonight
NYT: How Smart TVs in Millions of U.S. Homes Track More Than What’s on Tonight by Sapna Maheshwari:
Gizmodo: These Academics Spent the Last Year Testing Whether Your Phone Is Secretly Listening to You
Gizmodo: These Academics Spent the Last Year Testing Whether Your Phone Is Secretly Listening to You by Kashmir Hill (it’s not but apps tracking what you see and seek may make it seem that way):
The Hill: Lawmakers should accept reality that digital communication can never be ‘too secure’
The Hill: Lawmakers should accept reality that digital communication can never be ‘too secure’ by Chris Howell:
NYT: Newspaper Shooting Shows Widening Use of Facial Recognition by Authorities
NYT: Newspaper Shooting Shows Widening Use of Facial Recognition by Authorities by Cade Metz and Natasha Singer: When the police apprehended a suspect for the shootings at The Capital Gazette’s newsroom in Annapolis, Md., on Thursday, he refused to divulge … Continue reading
D.D.C.: SW for cell phone can also compel use of biometric data to open it
The government may also seek a search warrant for a cell phone that requires use of biometric information to open it, as long as it happens at the time of execution. There is no reasonable expectation of privacy in fingerprints … Continue reading
WaPo: Facial recognition technology is finally more accurate in identifying people of color. Could that be used against immigrants?
WaPo: Facial recognition technology is finally more accurate in identifying people of color. Could that be used against immigrants? by Drew Harwell:
NYTimes: Thermostats, Locks and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse
NYTimes: Thermostats, Locks and Lights: Digital Tools of Domestic Abuse by Nellie Bowles Internet-connected home devices that are marketed as the newest conveniences are also being used to harass, monitor and control.
WaPo: Editorial: Congress must reckon with the Fourth Amendment and new technology
WaPo: Editorial: Congress must reckon with the Fourth Amendment and new technology A 5-to-4 decision suggests the Supreme Court’s view of “unreasonable searches” is evolving. The House and Senate should clarify the legal standard.
ABAJ: FBI overestimated the number of encrypted phones while arguing for workarounds
ABAJ: FBI overestimated the number of encrypted phones while arguing for workarounds by Jason Tashea:
Wired: Senators Demand Answers from Amazon on Echo’s Snooping Habits
Wired: Senators Demand Answers from Amazon on Echo’s Snooping Habits by Issie Lapowsky: In the letter, Republican senator Jeff Flake and Democratic senator Chris Coons, who serve respectively as chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology … Continue reading
SFGate: Do Amazon’s Movement-Tracking Wristbands Violate Workers’ Privacy Rights?
SFGate: Do Amazon’s Movement-Tracking Wristbands Violate Workers’ Privacy Rights? by Dariush Adli A look at the legal precedents shows Amazon could get into trouble with its newly patented devices.
The Economist: How data-driven policing threatens human freedom
The Economist: How data-driven policing threatens human freedom An excerpt and interview with Andrew Ferguson, author of “The Rise of Big Data Policing”
NYTimes: Apple to Close iPhone Security Hole That Law Enforcement Uses to Crack Devices
NYTimes: Apple to Close iPhone Security Hole That Law Enforcement Uses to Crack Devices by Jack Nicas: Apple has long positioned the iPhone as a secure device that only its owner can open. That has led to battles with law … Continue reading
New Yorker: Why Do We Care So Much About Privacy?
New Yorker: Why Do We Care So Much About Privacy? by Louis Menand (magazine title: “Nowhere to Hide”): Big Tech wants to exploit our personal data, and the government wants to keep tabs on us. But “privacy” isn’t what’s really … Continue reading
The New Yorker: Why Do We Care So Much About Privacy?
The New Yorker: Why Do We Care So Much About Privacy? by Louis Menand: Big Tech wants to exploit our personal data, and the government wants to keep tabs on us. But “privacy” isn’t what’s really at stake. Long thoughtful … Continue reading
Just Security: Opinion: What If Police Use ‘Rekognition’ Without Telling Defendants?
Just Security: Opinion: What If Police Use ‘Rekognition’ Without Telling Defendants? by Sarah St. Vincent: At least two US law enforcement departments – and Motorola, which sells equipment to the government – have already purchased access to Amazon’s ‘Rekognition’ system. … Continue reading
NYTimes: F.B.I.’s Urgent Request: Reboot Your Router to Stop Russia-Linked Malware
NYTimes: F.B.I.’s Urgent Request: Reboot Your Router to Stop Russia-Linked Malware By Louis Lucero II: Hoping to thwart a sophisticated malware system linked to Russia that has infected hundreds of thousands of internet routers, the F.B.I. has made an urgent … Continue reading
Wired: A Location-Sharing Disaster Shows How Exposed You Really Are
Wired: A Location-Sharing Disaster Shows How Exposed You Really Are by Brian Barrett:
arstechnica: Forget scanning license plates; cops will soon ID you via your roof rack
arstechnica: Forget scanning license plates; cops will soon ID you via your roof rack by Cyrus Farivar” ELSAG LPR upgrade can ID “spare tire, bumper sticker, or a ride-sharing company decal.”