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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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Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Resources
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (2008) (pdf)
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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)
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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
SC: Unzipped pants in traffic stop contributed to RS
“Because we must evaluate the trial court’s findings for clear error, we reluctantly conclude evidence supported the trial court’s finding the officer had reasonable suspicion to extend the stop.” Partly from unzipped pants which suggests to the officer hiding drugs … Continue reading
CA6: Tasering resisting suspect is reasonable
Tasering a resisting suspect is reasonable, and the video shows it. Siders v. City of Eastpointe, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 23454 (6th Cir. July 24, 2020).* The controlled buy off defendant was clearly probable cause for the search warrant, so … Continue reading
M.D.Tenn.: Dashcam perspective may be different than officer’s
The dashcam video does not undermine the crediblity of the officer on the basis for the stop because the dashcam’s perspective may be different than the officer’s. United States v. Cart, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130796 (M.D. Tenn. July 24, … Continue reading
CA9: Dist.Ct.’s findings of pretextual inventory supported by evidence and affirmed
The district court’s conclusion the impoundment of the car and inventory search was pretextual is supported by the evidence and is affirmed. United States v. Turnbow, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 22341 (9th Cir. July 17, 2020). Defendant’s argument over the … Continue reading
CA2: Failure to fully articulate 4A argument in brief is waiver
“Although Plaintiff references her Fourth Amendment claims against the unidentified police officers in her list of ‘questions presented,’ she makes no argument to support those claims in her brief. See Appellant Br. 2, 6-13. We therefore view these claims as … Continue reading
CA3: Finding suspect near bank that was just robbed generally matching description but with short sleeves in winter was RS
“With respect to the issue of reasonable suspicion, this is a close case. Defendants were not wearing all of the clothing described in the dispatch or depicted on the surveillance video, and their reaction to the police vehicle could be … Continue reading
CA3 still doesn’t adopt standard of review for Franks challenges
The Third Circuit notes that it has yet to adopt a standard of review for Franks claims; see United States v. Pavulak, 700 F.3d 651, 665-66 (3d Cir. 2012); and it doesn’t have to here because, whichever applies, defendant loses. … Continue reading
S.D.Ohio: Collective knowledge applies to traffic stops
The collective knowledge doctrine applies to traffic stops. United States v. Murray, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111040 (S.D. Ohio June 24, 2020). “Applying this [deferential] standard of review to the warrant application, the Court has reviewed the application and finds … Continue reading
E.D.Ky.: Objection to USMJ’s findings must specifically challenge 4A rationale
“Defendant’s objections do not address the Magistrate’s analysis or conclusions regarding Grounds 11 and 15. Instead, Defendant vaguely asserts that his counsel should have challenged the ‘validity of [the] evidence[.]’ (DE 406 at 7.) Defendant provides no basis to challenge … Continue reading
S.D.Ga.: Govt’s GFE exception argument waived by not being presented to USMJ
The officer here departed from the investigation of the traffic offense without reasonable suspicion, and the stop became unreasonable. The government’s argument that Rodriguez hadn’t been decided at the time this happened wasn’t presented to the magistrate, so it’s waived. … Continue reading
TN: Without findings of fact, the appellate court can review the dashcam video and draw its own conclusions
The trial court didn’t make findings of fact, so the appellate court can review the dashcam video and draw its own conclusions. “The trial court reviewed the testimony of the only witness and made an implicit finding that his testimony … Continue reading
FL1: Possession of a concealed weapon in Florida isn’t inherently criminal, so no RS
Possession of a concealed weapon in Florida isn’t inherently criminal, and the officer lacked reasonable suspicion for a patdown and removing the gun from defendant’s waistband. Kilburn v. State, 2020 Fla. App. LEXIS 7525 (Fla. 1st DCA May 29, 2020) … Continue reading
TN: With no findings of fact, court can look at dashcam video and draw own conclusion suppression was appropriate
The trial court didn’t make findings of fact, so the appellate court can review the dashcam video and draw its own conclusions. “The trial court reviewed the testimony of the only witness and made an implicit finding that his testimony … Continue reading
OH5: Trial court’s finding of officer’s credibility where dashcam didn’t help was binding on appeal
The dashcam video was inconclusive on whether defendant stopped, but the trial court credited the officer, and that’s binding on the court of appeals. State v. Blasingame, 2020-Ohio-3087, 2020 Ohio App. LEXIS 2029 (5th Dist. May 21, 2020).* Two dashcam … Continue reading
CA6: Lack of PC for SW doesn’t deprive court of jurisdiction over criminal case
In seeking a successor habeas petition, inter alia: (1) all the alleged ineffective assistance claims were known at the time of the original petition; (2) “Joy’s claim that the district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over his prosecution because the search-warrant … Continue reading
LA1: Claim probation violation warrant lacked justification that led to search incident has to be argued on appeal
Defendant claimed his probation violation arrest warrant was defective and then argued the search incident to his arrest was thus invalid. On appeal, he doesn’t argue the validity of the arrest warrant, so the argument is waived. State v. Anglin, … Continue reading
FL5: Trial court’s order suppressing warrantless black box search affirmed for lack of a record
The trial court granted a motion to suppress the search of defendant’s car’s black box (“event data recorder”). The state on appeal seeks to depart from State v. Worsham, 227 So. 3d 602, 603 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017), that there … Continue reading
D.N.M.: Violated no REP to open driver door to read VIN where dashboard number obscured
It was reasonable to open a car door to read the VIN on the doorjamb under New York v. Class because the officer couldn’t see the one on the dashboard because of the glare of the sun. Otherwise, there was … Continue reading
OH9: Possession of <100g MJ is a nonarrestable offense, so a search incident was unreasonable
Possession of <100g marijuana is a nonarrestable offense, so a search incident was unreasonable. State v. R.L., 2020-Ohio-2811, 2020 Ohio App. LEXIS 1774 (9th Dist. May 6, 2020). Without a motion to suppress, there’s no vehicle for development of a … Continue reading
TX2: SW for seizure of blood includes the ability to analyze it
It is well settled in Texas that a search warrant for blood in a DUI case includes the ability to analyze it. Jacobson v. State, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 3447 (Tex. App. – Ft. Worth Apr. 23, 2020). Defendant’s CSLI … Continue reading