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Recent Posts
- CA8: Admission of anonymous tip that led to stop violated Confrontation Clause
- CO: Anonymous report of student smoking pot in school justified backpack search
- CA6: CI’s lie to get into def’s house to video him making a drug deal with the CI didn’t violate 4A
- TN: Def lived in a van left wide open in a public area, but it didn’t belong to him, so no REP as to interior
- VI: Despite ubiquity of cell phones, nexus has to be shown to alleged crime
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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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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
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General (many free):
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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)
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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)
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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: Standards of review
ID: Right-result, wrong-theory rule requires preservation of the alternative argument
The state can’t use the right-result, wrong-theory rule when it doesn’t preserve the alternative argument to give the other party the opportunity to develop the record. State v. Hoskins, 2019 Ida. LEXIS 108 (June 13, 2019). The evidence available to … Continue reading
N.D.Iowa: Suppression hearing review isn’t de novo; it’s whether there is a substantial basis for finding PC
The district court’s duty at a suppression hearing is not de novo review of probable cause – it’s whether there is substantial evidence to support the conclusion of the issuing magistrate that there was probable cause. United States v. Mohring, … Continue reading
CA8: Hotel staff photographed evidence of drug use in room which corroborated CI
The information in the search warrant application was sufficient to show a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime would be found in a hotel room registered to a known drug user who had recently tested positive for … Continue reading
W.D.Wash.: A potential claim of excessive force during a search doesn’t justify discovery of other alleged incidents of excessive force during searches
Defendant plans a suppression motion claiming that the search was invalid for use of excessive force during the search. He seeks discovery of other allegations of excessive force during searches by the officers, and it’s denied as speculative. United States … Continue reading
CO: Law of the case doesn’t bar consideration of undecided arguments to support a search
Law of the case isn’t always completely binding but usually is, and it certainly permits the trial court to consider other issues not decided in the original appeal against suppression of the evidence. People v. Morehead, 2019 CO 48, 2019 … Continue reading
AK: Can’t argue one 4A theory to trial court and another to appellate court
In the trial court, defendant argued that the seizure of his clothing in a hospital room was not a valid plain view. On appeal, however, he argues that entry into the hospital room itself was unreasonable. One can’t change the … Continue reading
CA5: When both PC and GFE are appealed, both have to be argued on appeal or both are waived
When probable cause and the good faith exception are both decided by the district court, both must be argued on appeal or the whole issue of the validity of the warrant is waived for appeal. “We note initially that Huerta … Continue reading
ND: 14 hour old information for a probation search was not stale
14 hour old information for a probation search was not stale. State v. Stenhoff, 2019 ND 106 (Apr. 11, 2019). Defendant didn’t preserve his search issues for appeal under state law. “In attempting to reserve the question of whether Defendant … Continue reading
TN: Credibility determinations in motions to suppress are the province of the trial court
Credibility of the witnesses at a suppression hearing is entrusted to the trial court, and it isn’t subject to review on appeal. State v. Belt, 2019 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 208 (Apr. 1, 2019). A conclusory or general objection to … Continue reading
MD: The actual inventory is the list of what was seized, not necessarily from exactly where it was seized
“What the inventory must list, as was properly done in this case, is the property that was actually seized, not the rooms that were searched. To describe the scope of the search is not the function of an inventory list.” … Continue reading
D.Ariz.: Carpenter doesn’t change the third-party doctrine as to IP information
Carpenter doesn’t change the third-party doctrine as to IP information. United States v. McCutchin, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36811 (D. Ariz. Mar. 7, 2019). The affidavits “are somewhat thin,” but this is deferential, not de novo, review, and, while this … Continue reading
CA9: Credibility findings re drug dog and handler are binding on appeal
Defendant’s package was opened in transit with a warrant after a dog sniff. After a three day suppression hearing, the district court found the dog handler credible and there was no misrepresentation of facts concerning the dog’s accuracy or training. … Continue reading
KS: Inadequate findings and conclusions must be brought to trial court’s attention before appeal
Defendant should have objected to the adequacy of findings of fact and conclusions of law on his search issue in the trial court first. “Without such an objection, this court must presume the district court found all the facts needed … Continue reading
CA7: Chicago police officer who warned search target of SW properly convicted of obstruction of justice
A Chicago police officer was properly convicted of obstruction of justice when he learned from his job that drug raids and arrests were going down and he called a target he worked with to warn him. United States v. Coleman, … Continue reading
S.D.Ohio: Affidavit for SW of home garage also showed nexus to house in car theft operation
This investigation into a stolen car ring operated from a home garage showed nexus to the house, too. “The affidavit by Officer Chappell is clear and thorough and reflects months of information gathering. The affidavit explains the nexus between the … Continue reading
CA3: Municipal officers may execute federal PV warrants
Defendant was ID’d as a likely suspect in a bank robbery, and a federal probation violation warrant was issued. Municipal officers may execute federal probation violation warrants. “See, e.g., United States v. Polito, 583 F.2d 48, 51 (2d Cir. 1978); … Continue reading
NY3: When trial court sustains search on two grounds, both have to be challenged on appeal or no error
Defendant challenged the search of his BAC which was obtained by consent and a search warrant. Challenging only the search warrant doesn’t matter because consent remains. People v. Guzy, 2018 NY Slip Op 08714, 2018 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 8665 … Continue reading
IA: No conflict in motion to suppress where def counsel was law partner of issuing magistrate
Defense counsel was the law partner of the issuing magistrate. On post-conviction, defendant did not show that defense counsel was operating under a conflict of interest because defense counsel filed and vigorously litigated a motion to suppress. Kensett v. State, … Continue reading
CA6: Dist.Ct.’s findings don’t support inevitable discovery, so court applies independent source instead
The district court’s analysis doesn’t support application of the inevitable discovery exception because the court didn’t make sufficient findings on the second part of the test. Instead, the record fully supports the independent source doctrine instead. United States v. Chapman-Sexton, … Continue reading
E.D.N.C.: Trial objection was 5A and Miranda; 4A claim waived and can’t be raised post-trial
Defendant’s trial objection was based on Miranda and the Fifth Amendment. No Fourth Amendment claim was made so it is waived and post trial briefing is too late. United States v. Horton, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 201898 (E.D. N.C. Nov. … Continue reading