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- VA: Search incident between def’s shorts and underwear was reasonable
- Reason: Border Cops Seize Nurse’s Phone Filled With Psychiatric Patient Information
- MI: Handcuffing uncooperative def at scene of accident wasn’t unreasonable
- S.D.Ga.: Def’s car in driveway next to sidewalk was not on curtilage
- S.D.Ind.: Post search database search of occupants of a place didn’t show SW affidavit was false at time it issued
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Feedspot’s Best Legal Blogs and Websites 2023-2026,
also, firm website Top 90 Criminal Law Blogs 2026 -
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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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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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"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. 
Monthly Archives: October 2026
WI: During a traffic stop, officers can run the criminal history of passengers
During a traffic stop, officers can run the criminal history of passengers. State v. Pantle, 2026 Wisc. App. LEXIS 1138 (Oct. 14, 2026). Defendant’s conditional release search one week before the end of his term was based on reasonable suspicion … Continue reading
IL: No state privacy interest in personal identifying information
“Rather, in light of the foregoing authorities, we conclude defendant has failed to establish he has a legitimate privacy interest in the personal information—e.g., his name, date of birth, height, weight, hair color, and eye color—compiled on his identification card. … Continue reading
CA8: Judge gets no qualified or judicial immunity for locking up children who didn’t want to go with a parent
A judge gets no qualified or judicial immunity for ordering children locked up for refusing to leave court with a parent they didn’t want to go with. In a prior appeal, “the children were beyond his contempt power and ‘judges … Continue reading
Volokh: How Should Flock Cameras Be Regulated Under the Fourth Amendment?
Volokh Conspiracy: How Should Flock Cameras Be Regulated Under the Fourth Amendment by Orin S. Kerr
D.P.R.: Mere possession of a car doesn’t show standing
Just having possession of a car doesn’t show standing. How did it come to be? United States v. Luna-Irizarry, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 232412 (D.P.R. Oct. 8, 2026):
D.Kan.: Gun dislodged fleeing police dog wasn’t excludable, even if it was excessive force (which it wasn’t)
Siccing a police dog on a suspected armed and dangerous burglar that dislodged a Glock with a switch was not unreasonable. Even if it was excessive force, which it wasn’t, exclusion wouldn’t be the proper remedy. United States v. Wilhoite, … Continue reading
S.D.Ill.: Witness’s memory failure on the stand at trial didn’t support a Franks challenge
Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for not raising a Franks challenge mid-trial when a participant in the search warrant process had a memory failure on the stand as to something. Offutt v. United States, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 231418 (S.D. Ill. … Continue reading
W.D.Pa.: SW for cell phone on def at time of drug arrest was particular
Defendant’s cell phone particularity objection to the warrant fails because it showed (1) crime involved, (2) ID’ed them as found on him at time with a gun and drugs, and (3) showed nexus. Also, the good faith exception would apply. … Continue reading
LA5: Drone video corroborates that car wasn’t searched before warrant arrived
There was probable cause for the search of defendant’s car. He also claimed that the car was searched before the warrant for it issued. Based on a drone video, defendant was Tasered, and an officer opened and closed the car … Continue reading
E.D.Tenn.: Frisk of bag was reasonable, too
On the totality, there was reasonable suspicion for defendant’s Terry stop and then a frisk of his bag. United States v. Brooks, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 231135 (E.D. Tenn. Oct. 8, 2026).* “The Court finds that Cruz’s claim fails because, … Continue reading
Reason: Other Courts Should Heed a Federal Judge’s Warning About Flock-Enabled Mass Surveillance
Reason: Other Courts Should Heed a Federal Judge’s Warning About Flock-Enabled Mass Surveillance by Jacob Sullum (“Car-tracking cameras, like cellphones, generate vast amounts of sensitive data.”)
Reason: Are Warrantless Phone Searches at the Border Constitutional? The Supreme Court May Soon Decide.
Reason: Are Warrantless Phone Searches at the Border Constitutional? The Supreme Court May Soon Decide. by Amy Piekoff:
S.D.W.Va.: Informant here conducted warrantless search for the government
The informant was acting as an agent of the government in conducting the search here. United States v. Minkkinen, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 230696 (S.D. W. Va. Oct. 7, 2026):
CA5: Ptf with dementia resisting police could be Tased
Plaintiff suffered from dementia and resisted the police. “We need not decide whether Jaso’s using the taser violated the Fourth Amendment. Even resolving any genuine factual disputes in the plaintiff’s favor, no precedent clearly forbade Jaso from deploying his taser … Continue reading
Treatise 15% off for a little while
See here.
WaPo: After string of crimes, e-bikes and scooters come under scrutiny in D.C.
WaPo: After string of crimes, e-bikes and scooters come under scrutiny in D.C. (“‘Alleged crimes involving a Lime vehicle are a tiny fraction of Lime rides but any level of crime is unacceptable,’ Duthely said in a statement. If someone … Continue reading
CityBuzz: How Activation Gaps in Police Video Are Impacting Suppression Fights in Misdemeanor and Felony Cases
CityBuzz: How Activation Gaps in Police Video Are Impacting Suppression Fights in Misdemeanor and Felony Cases:
CA8: Stop for warrant on driver made passenger’s stop reasonable
Defendant passenger’s detention was lawful when the car was stopped because of a warrant on the owner-driver. Being ordered into the car was also reasonable for officer safety. United States v. Negrete, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 30736 (8th Cir. Oct. … Continue reading
CA8: In a traffic stop, the passenger can be ordered to stay in the car or get out for officer safety
Defendant passenger’s detention was lawful when the car was stopped because of a warrant on the owner-driver. Being ordered into the car was also reasonable for officer safety. United States v. Negrete, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 30736 (8th Cir. Oct. … Continue reading
E.D.N.Y.: Investigation doesn’t have to be complete or perfect for there to be PC
There was no Franks violation, and there was probable cause. Yes, the officer could have done more to investigate, but that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t probable cause. United States v. Cruz, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 230292 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 7, … Continue reading