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ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2017); ABA Journal Blawg 100 (2015-16) (discontinued 2018)
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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 -
© 2003-24,
online since Feb. 24, 2003 Approx. 425,000 visits (non-robot) since 2012 Approx. 45,000 posts since 2003 (26,730+ on WordPress as of 12/31/23) -
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Fourth Amendment cases,
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--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 -
"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)
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Category Archives: Pole cameras
E.D.Wis.: Govt planting video camera in neighbor’s house aiming at def’s backyard didn’t violate 4A
Officers put a video camera in defendant’s back neighbor’s house to look at defendant’s back yard over the long term. This was similar to a pole camera, except that its view was the same as the back neighbor’s, and it … Continue reading
C.D.Ill.: 18 month pole camera surveillance of def’s house didn’t violate REP
18 month pole camera surveillance of defendant’s house didn’t violate his reasonable expectation of privacy. United States v. Tuggle, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127333 (C.D. Ill. July 31, 2018):
D.S.D.: Pole camera surveillance was troubling, but for def being on supervised release with a reduced REP
Pole camera surveillance of defendant may have been intrusive, and the court is sensitive to the ability of a pole camera to invade on privacy, but this case turns on defendant being on supervised release with a lower expectation of … Continue reading
D.Ariz.: Long-term pole camera surveillance over the fence surrounding defendant’s junkyard violated his REP
Long-term pole camera surveillance over the fence surrounding defendant’s junkyard violated his reasonable expectation of privacy where the average person couldn’t see over the fence merely walking by. The court differentiates the flyover cases because long-term video surveillance is unusual … Continue reading
NYTimes: In Newark, Police Cameras, and the Internet, Watch You
NYTimes: In Newark, Police Cameras, and the Internet, Watch You by By Rick Rojas: Surveillance cameras monitored by the police have become a ubiquitous presence in many cities. In Newark, anyone with internet access is allowed to watch. And a … Continue reading
NYTimes: Can 30,000 Cameras Help Solve Chicago’s Crime Problem?
NYTimes: Can 30,000 Cameras Help Solve Chicago’s Crime Problem? By Timothy Williams Armed with advanced gadgets and mapping, officers can get to crime scenes “in time to see the guy still shooting.” But what does it mean for residents’ privacy? … Continue reading
S.D.N.Y.: 21 month pole camera surveillance of def’s front door was reasonable
Pole camera surveillance of defendant’s house for 21 months didn’t violate Fourth Amendment. He had a subjective reasonable expectation privacy, but it’s not one that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable. The court traces Katz to Jardines, and concludes … Continue reading
SD: Two months of pole camera surveillance without even RS violated a REP that society would recognize as reasonable; GFE applies, however
Defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy that society is now prepared to recognize as reasonable from installation of a pole camera across the street from his house and monitoring it for two months based solely on a tip that … Continue reading
OH3: Oral testimony for SW doesn’t have to be transcribed before SW served
Oral testimony in support of issuance of a search warrant did not have to be transcribed and made part of the record before the warrant was served. State v. Wilson, 2017-Ohio-5484, 2017 Ohio App. LEXIS 2544 (3d Dist. June 26, … Continue reading
OH3: Several months of pole camera surveillance violated no REP
Pole camera surveillance for several months from a telephone pole across from defendant’s house violated no Fourth Amendment expectation of privacy. The view of his house was no different than could be seen by any passersby. State v. Thomas, 2017-Ohio-4356, … Continue reading
OH3: Nine days of pole camera surveillance did not violate the 4A
Nine days of pole camera surveillance did not violate the Fourth Amendment. State v. Duvernay, 2017-Ohio-4219, 2017 Ohio App. LEXIS 2279 (3d Dist. June 12, 2017). The officer’s briefly talking to the defendant driver and his passenger did not unlawfully … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: Pole camera surveillance of curtilage and front of building for a year and 5 weeks wasn’t unreasonable
Defendant had a building that burned, and he moved out, conducting clean up and repairs. He was still considered by the FBI to be running drugs from there. The FBI installed a pole camera across the street that operated from … Continue reading
CA6: CSLI by court order was valid; lengthy pole camera observation of publicly seen areas reasonable
Lengthy CSLI was obtained by a cell site simulator but with a court order. Pleading the pen register statute is no help to the defense because there is no exclusionary remedy. Pre-Jones GPS tracking was valid under Davis. Finally, lengthy … Continue reading
N.D.Ind.: RS came from GPS, pole camera surveillance, CI’s observations, police surveillance
“The Court concludes that the task force’s investigation of Cupp led to reasonable articulable suspicion that he was dealing drugs from his residence and had also been stealing lawnmowers, ATV’s, and motorcycles. The informant’s observations, police surveillance, video of his … Continue reading
EFF Urges Sixth Circuit to Revisit Case Finding No Warrant Needed for Ten Weeks of Covert 24/7 Video Surveillance
EFF Urges Sixth Circuit to Revisit Case Finding No Warrant Needed for Ten Weeks of Covert 24/7 Video Surveillance by Jennifer Lynch: EFF joined NYU Law School’s Brennan Center for Justice, ACLU, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Libertarian … Continue reading
CA6: Ten weeks of pole camera surveillance on rural property no Fourth Amendment violation
The Sixth Circuit distinguishes Anderson-Bagshaw and holds ten weeks of pole camera surveillance on rural property violated no reasonable expectation of privacy. “Rocky Houston appeals his conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 … Continue reading
E.D.Mich.: IAC claim over search denied for lack of factual proffer
2255 petitioner’s IAC claim denied for generality and no factual basis: “Here, the petitioner has failed to develop any factual basis or legal argument on the performance element, beyond the naked assertion that his attorneys did not advance any arguments … Continue reading
OH4: Defendant didn’t have standing to challenge pole camera surveillance of friend’s house
Defense counsel was not ineffective for not raising a technical challenge that, at the time, was meritless but the law later changed. The exclusionary rule wouldn’t apply. He also lacked standing to challenge pole camera surveillance of somebody else’s house. … Continue reading
W.D.Pa.: Long term pole camera surveillance of front of house valid
Suppression of long term pole camera surveillance of defendant’s front door almost summarily denied. United States v. Gilliam, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118511 (W.D.Pa. September 4, 2015):
D.Mass. somewhat reluctantly concludes, after surveying many cases, that long term pole camera surveillance of defendant’s front door is constitutionally proper
D.Mass. somewhat reluctantly concludes, after surveying many cases, that long term pole camera surveillance of defendant’s front door is constitutionally proper. That surveillance led to a GPS warrant on a car. United States v. Garcia-Gonzalez, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116312 … Continue reading