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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) -
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Fourth Amendment cases,
citations, and links -
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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
Research Links:
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Briefs online (but no amicus briefs)
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General (many free):
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Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Resources
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (2008) (pdf)
DEA Agents Manual (2002) (download)
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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)
--Federal Laws Relating to Cybersecurity: Discussion of Proposed Revisions (2012)
ACLU on privacy
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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: Cell site location information
techdirt: Seventh Circuit Ignores Two Supreme Court Decisions To Hand Out Bad Precedent On Cell Site Location Info
techdirt: Seventh Circuit Ignores Two Supreme Court Decisions To Hand Out Bad Precedent On Cell Site Location InfoSeventh Circuit Ignores Two Supreme Court Decisions To Hand Out Bad Precedent On Cell Site Location Info by Tim Cushing:
D.Minn.: Exigent cell phone ping not barred by Carpenter
An exigent circumstances cell phone ping was not prohibited by Carpenter. United States v. Andrews, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26283 (D. Minn. Feb. 20, 2019):
D.D.C.: Knotted plastic bag of drugs in waistband was in plain view
Defendant was stopped for a traffic offense, and his tinted windows were way too dark and the officer couldn’t see inside. Defendant was told to lower the window, and he did. The officer could immediately see a knotted plastic bag … Continue reading
CA6: No successor 2255 for Carpenter
Petitioner seeks a 2255 successor habeas petition based on Carpenter. It’s denied because: It’s not newly discovered, and it wouldn’t even apply because of the good faith exception. In re Gipson, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 4457 (6th Cir. Feb. 14, … Continue reading
WA: Breath test was valid as search incident
A breath test conducted under the implied consent law is a valid search incident to arrest. The state constitution does not impose a higher standard. State v. Nelson, 2019 Wash. App. LEXIS 354 (Feb. 14, 2019). Defendant didn’t raise a … Continue reading
D.D.C.: Protective order issued to keep def from seeing body camera videos in discovery
There were several body camera videos relating to this case as well as the search and seizure. The issue here is the scope of a protective order to keep defendant from seeing. The government met its burden of showing good … Continue reading
CA7: Exclusionary rule does not apply to revocation of federal supervised release
The exclusionary rule does not apply to revocation of federal supervised release, applying Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole v. Scott, 524 U.S. 357 (1998). United States v. Phillips, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 2799 (7th Cir. Jan. 28, 2019). CSLI … Continue reading
W.D.Ky.: Cell phone pings before controlled buys provided nexus to search house
Defendant’s going directly home after several controlled buys as shown by cell phone pings was sufficient to show nexus to his home for a search warrant for drugs. “Probable cause exists in this case because of the continual and ongoing … Continue reading
IN: Exigency permitted real time pinging of def’s cell phone
(1) There were exigent circumstances for pinging defendant’s cell phone based on exigent circumstances as recognized by state statute, and this is implicitly recognized by Carpenter. (2) Failure to file the search warrant papers within 72 hours as required by … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: Def can’t use 2255 IAC claim to undo 2015 CSLI
Defendant filed a 2255 to set aside his conviction under Carpenter because the government in 2015 used CSLI to aid in his conviction. Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not pursuing what he claims is the trial court’s hint to challenge … Continue reading
The Champion: Building on Carpenter: Six New Fourth Amendment Challenges Every Defense Lawyer Should Consider
The Champion: Building on Carpenter: Six New Fourth Amendment Challenges Every Defense Lawyer Should Consider by Michael Price and Bill Wolf (NACDL, Dec. 2018) at 20-25: The implications of the Supreme Court’s decision in Carpenter v. United States are just … Continue reading
D.N.M.: Passenger’s conduct and answers during traffic stop provided RS
The passenger’s conduct here showed reasonable suspicion to continue the stop. United States v. Torres, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10590 (D. N.M. Jan. 23, 2019). The government obtained CSLI in 2015 for 57 days of defendants’ cell phones, and the … Continue reading
E.D.N.C.: SW for data off phone isn’t governed by Carpenter
Where the search warrant sought information off defendant’s telephone, Carpenter is not implicated. It was also pre-Carpenter. There was also an order for CSLI in 2015, and that was not barred by Carpenter. United States v. Evans, 2018 U.S. Dist. … Continue reading
NE: GFE applied to CSLI obtained two years before Carpenter
Defendant’s CSLI was obtained two years before Carpenter with an order under the Stored Communications Act to connect him to a murder. Carpenter was decided while on appeal. The court follows every other case on the issue and applies the … Continue reading
FL5: Record doesn’t show no standing in CSLI; remanded
The record does not conclusively show that defendant was without standing to challenge the CSLI from the cell phone at issue. Remanded. Litz v. State, 2019 Fla. App. LEXIS 649 (Fla. 5th DCA Jan. 18, 2019).* A store loss prevention … Continue reading
CA6: Carpenter decided after notice of appeal didn’t apply to defendant
CSLI was admitted at trial without objection. Carpenter was decided after the notice of appeal. On plain error review, there is no error because the CSLI was lawfully obtained at the time and the good faith exception applies. United States … Continue reading
D.Mass.: Part of CI’s criminal history wasn’t disclosed, but enough was; CI was corroborated, and there was PC
The affiant didn’t withhold enough of the CI’s criminal history to be misleading. Not all of it was disclosed, but enough was to show he was part of the criminal milieu. And even if the withholding was significant, there was … Continue reading
IA: Def answered door in underwear with apparent semen stains; police there with SW for sex abuse with minors
Defendant was under investigation for sexual abuse of minors. “[T]he police went to Heggebo’s house to execute a search warrant. Heggebo answered the door wearing only shorts. The police seized Heggebo’s shorts because the shorts had apparent semen stains on … Continue reading
OH2: CSLI raised first in appeal reply brief isn’t timely; harmless on this record anyway
Defendant never raised CSLI until his reply brief on appeal after Carpenter came down, and a reply brief is too late. Even if he could have preserved the issue, the evidence was overwhelming and harmless. State v. Kennedy, 2018-Ohio-4997, 2018 … Continue reading
D.Minn.: Nine state CSLI warrants were issued with PC and were particular
Nine state search warrants were issued for CSLI to attempt to solve nine pharmacy robberies in March-June 2018. Aside from potential standing on questions on some warrants, the search warrants were issued with probable cause and they were particular. Finally, … Continue reading