Because he’s in custody, defendant has a diminished expectation of getting his cell phone back. The slight delay in getting a warrant has no case law cited in support, not that it matters. United States v. Holloman, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6911 (N.D. Ga. Jan. 14, 2026).
“Even confining our own analysis to uncontested information and including omitted facts, the Whisenand Affidavit supported a probable cause finding in spades.” Economan v. Luttrull, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 906 (7th Cir. Jan. 12, 2026).*
Defendant received constitutionally adequate notice of forfeiture, certified mail to the jail twice, which he claims he never saw. United States v. Marte, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6918 (D.N.H. Jan. 14, 2026).* [What? Jails fail to deliver mail inside? They sure do. Or take four weeks to deliver something after obvious receipt.]
Unjustifiably slamming plaintiff to the ground states a claim against one defendant, not the others. Humble v. Harris Cnty., 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7036 (S.D. Tex. Jan. 14, 2026).*
Search incident of a car after DUI arrest was reasonable under Gant. United States v. Peralta, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7341 (D. Kan. Jan. 13, 2026). [It could also be argued that the automobile exception would work here, too, when looking for open containers.]
Petitioner claims an extradition request from Turkey fails the Fourth Amendment because it didn’t include all the elements of the crime, which would allegedly show he couldn’t be extradited because of a lack of offense. The request was supplemented, now it does. Denied. Tok v. Nessigner, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7119 (D.R.I. Jan. 14, 2026).*
The decedent was having a mental health breakdown when the police seized him, and he later died. ADA didn’t have to be complied with, and the Fourth Amendment seizure was reasonable. Booth v. Lazzara, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 936 (6th Cir. Jan. 14, 2026).*
Plaintiff claims an abusive unnecessary strip search, but the bodycams don’t back it up. Turcios v. Vittetoe, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7304 (N.D. Ga. Jan. 14, 2026).*
A nondisclosure order in a search warrant to an electronic service provider does not violate state law or the First Amendment. Microsoft Corp. v. Superior Court, 2026 Cal. App. LEXIS 17 (2d Dist. Jan. 14, 2026):
On a traffic stop, the juvenile was recognized from a BOLO as missing. That then involved the community caretaking function. Commonwealth v. Demos D., 2026 Mass. LEXIS 6 (Jan. 13, 2026).
There was reasonable suspicion for stopping plaintiff where he was found where the police were pursuing a suspect and briefly lost him, and plaintiff fairly matched the description and had similar colored clothes. Wolterman v. Syverson, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 879 (8th Cir. Jan. 14, 2026).*
Clearly established law for qualified immunity requires it be from the same circuit. Root v. Comstock, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 886 (10th Cir. Jan. 14, 2026).*
The district court’s Franks findings against defendant are not clearly erroneous. United States v. Irvin, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 901 (3d Cir. Jan. 14, 2026).*
A shotspotter alert brought the police to this house, and the police went around looking for signs of anyone that might be injured. Within 20 seconds it was apparent there wasn’t, but then they looked for spent shell casings in the dark in the grass. That was beyond the initial call and community caretaking function. The reference to shell casings in the affidavit didn’t mention this intensive search, and implied plain view. That was misleading. The motion to suppress should be granted. United States v. Davis, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 270386 (E.D. Mo. Dec. 12, 2025) (R&R).
This affidavit was [clearly] sufficient. “Nevertheless, even if an affidavit contains deficiencies, where ‘the existence of probable cause presents a close question on which reasonable minds could differ—or even that probable cause was in fact lacking—suppression would nonetheless be unwarranted under the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule.’” Torres-Carmona v. State, 2026 Fla. App. LEXIS 305 (Fla. 2d DCA Jan. 14, 2026).*
This was a felony arrest, and a warrant isn’t required as long as there’s probable cause. Here, there was plenty. United States v. Ceasar, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6691 (S.D. Ohio Jan. 13, 2026).*
If a law enforcement officer is never trained on the Fourth Amendment, does he or she get the benefit of the good faith exception or reasonableness? Don’t both require some “understanding” by definition? See Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438, 479 (1928) (Brandeis, J., dissenting) (“Experience should teach us to be most on our 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.”)
Posted inReasonableness|Comments Off on 4A reasonableness
Brigham City’s “objectively reasonable basis for believing” someone inside needs emergency assistance doesn’t mean probable cause. That’s best left to criminal investigations. Case v. Montana, 2026 U.S. LEXIS 432 (Jan. 14, 2026). Syllabus by the Court:
Defendant’s simple [nonaggressive] refusal to comply with a search warrant for his DNA for 12 days was admissible at trial. [There’s also a prior discussion that suggests harmless error.] Lee v. Commonwealth, 2026 Va. App. LEXIS 32 (Jan. 13, 2026).
Defendant didn’t preserve the probable cause for his arrest, but there was anyway. Lack of a carry license isn’t an element of the crime that the state has to disprove under Bruen, which was decided way later. People v. Rodriguez, 2026 NY Slip Op 00100 (1st Dept. Jan. 13, 2026)* (the conviction was March 19, 2019, nearly seven years ago).
The district court properly concluded that the video of the stop undermined plaintiff’s claims. Gilliam v. Fields, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 805 (11th Cir. Jan. 13, 2026).*
Unintended shooting target: “When an officer fires at a dog, is there a seizure of the dog’s owner when the stray bullet hits her instead? We conclude the answer is no.” Hight v. Williams, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 781 (8th Cir. Jan. 13, 2026):
Defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in his tent in a homeless encampment on someone else’s private property. That’s “wrongful presence.” He also disclaimed the tent, but standing is enough to deny relief. United States v. Tillman, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5386 (E.D.N.C. Jan. 12, 2026).
The CI’s information recounted in the affidavit for warrant was sufficiently reliable for probable cause. “The confidential informant was an associate of the defendant who had the opportunity to observe the defendant’s illegal activities. The confidential informant told Paoletti that he or she had purchased drugs from the defendant and that the defendant was selling cocaine from his residence. The confidential informant provided a detailed description of the floor plan of the defendant’s residence, indicating that the defendant’s bedroom was on the second floor of the residence, on the ‘left hand side as one enters through the kitchen.’ Based on the confidential informant’s familiarity with the layout of the defendant’s residence, it was reasonable to infer that he or she had been inside the residence. The confidential informant also identified the specific type of firearm that the defendant had in his possession.” State v. Velazquez, 2026 Conn. App. LEXIS 17 (Jan. 13, 2026).* [Not even close.]
The search warrant for a gun involved in shooting was not stale 11 days after the shooting. Firearms are durable and not consumables. United States v. Williams, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4950 (W.D. Pa. Jan. 12, 2026).
The warrant for papers in defendant’s county jail cell was valid, seeking non-legal mail sent under cover of legal mail. Washington v. Kukowski, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5042 (E.D. Wis. Jan. 12, 2026).*
Petitioner’s plea agreement waived his search claims. Rit Tran v. United States, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5066 (N.D. Tex. Jan. 12, 2026).*
Defendant’s detention at the scene of execution of a warrant was reasonable under Summers, despite his argument to the contrary. United States v. Lombardi, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5125 (D.R.I. Jan. 12, 2026).*
A cell site tower dump to see who was there at the time of the crime is governed by Carpenter, but the law is completely unclear and the good faith exception saves it. United States v. McDonald, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5169 (D. Mass. Jan. 12, 2026):
Posted inCell phones, Cell site location information|Comments Off on D.Mass.: Cell site tower dump governed by Carpenter, but GFE applies here because there’s almost no case anywhere else
The ping information warrant here was not stale. United States v. Torres, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4593 (D. Idaho Jan. 9, 2026). [It also seems like it would never get stale. It is information not subject to change; if anything, the data would be lost over time, and that’s not a staleness issue–it’s just gone.]
There was probable cause for issuance of the administrative warrant, and that permitted officers to pass by appellant’s no trespassing sign. Deitz v. Clerk of Courts of Shelby Cty., 2026-Ohio-63, 2026 Ohio App. LEXIS 55 (3d Dist. Jan. 12, 2026).*
The search warrant here did not include searching appellant’s wallet and seizing his bank card that led to further inquiries. The suppression order is affirmed. People v. Galloway, 2026 Mich. App. LEXIS 238 (Jan. 9, 2026)* (unpublished).
Defendant’s stop for riding a bicycle after sunset without lights was valid. United States v. Johnson, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 726 (11th Cir. Jan. 12, 2026).*
Defendant’s high speed chase was probable cause. “Defendant’s egregious eluding combined with his throwing an object from his vehicle combine to establish probable cause to search the Defendant’s vehicle under the automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement.” United States v. Newman, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 270238 (E.D. Okla. Nov. 25, 2025).
Defendant filed two motions to suppress and withdrew them to instead prepare for trial. Finally, a third was filed out of time that alleges a Franks issue too. It would be appropriate to deny it all for untimeliness, but the court allows the Franks issue to be briefed. United States v. Phillips, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4571 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 9, 2026).*
The government has nothing that supports reasonable suspicion. Defendant was in a high crime area, but that alone is not enough. There was no particularized suspicion as to him. United States v. Talton, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4563 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 9, 2026).*
Random and isolated interference with prisoner mail doesn’t state a claim for relief. Malicious interference would, but that’s not alleged. Tucker v. Horn, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 531 (6th Cir. Jan. 8, 2026).
Not search case, but defendant was suspected of robbery. He was arrested with three cell phones. Warrants were issued for the phones which revealed his location data, plans to rob the stores and then fence the goods. Malone v. State, 2026 Tex. App. LEXIS 173 (Tex. App. – Ft. Worth Jan. 8, 2026).*
Plaintiff can point to no case even close on whether this stalking arrest was without probable cause, and thus violated clearly established law. “Mulcahey has not pled allegations from which we can infer a lack of probable cause, and even if she did, she points to no caselaw showing the officers violated a clearly established right in these circumstances.” Mulcahey v. Twp. of Chocolay, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 666 (6th Cir. Jan. 8, 2026).*
Failure to allege an arrest was without probable cause is failure to state a claim. Tulis v. Bennett, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 672 (6th Cir. Jan. 9, 2026).*
The US Capitol Police inventory policy was followed here, and the motion to suppress is denied. The fact a private company towed the vehicle is of no moment to the policy or the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Johnson, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4591 (D.D.C. Jan. 9, 2026).
“The temporal proximity and intervening-circumstances factors weigh heavily in Talton’s favor. As the record demonstrates, Fatching arrived on scene the morning of May 19, 2025, conducted the search shortly thereafter, seized the firearm, arrested Talton, and transported him to the Genesee County Jail. Sergeant Duhart interviewed Talton the next morning after he confirmed he was no longer under the influence of alcohol. A one-day delay between his unlawful arrest and confession, where he remained in custody the entire time and did not talk to a lawyer, favors suppression. … “Moreover, the record does not show ‘any meaningful intervening event’ between the illegal [search] and [Defendant’s] confession.’ Kaupp, 538 U.S. at 633 (quoting Taylor v. Alabama, 457 U.S. 687, 691 (1982)).” Therefore, considering the brief time between the illegal search and the confession and because ‘there was no intervening event of significance whatsoever,’ it is clear that Talton’s confession arose as a result of the illegal search and his subsequent arrest. Brown, 422 U.S. at 604. Talton’s confession will be suppressed.” United States v. Talton, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4563 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 9, 2026).*
Posted inAttenuation, Inventory|Comments Off on D.D.C.: A private tow didn’t violate US Capitol Police inventory policy or 4A
It doesn’t matter that DTF officers were on the interstate and ordered defendant’s stop for a window tint violation because there was objective justification for it. The rest of the stop was with reasonable suspicion for the drug dog. United States v. Jackson, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 270126 (E.D. Ky. Dec. 18, 2025).*
This involves a warrant for a package sought by the Postal Inspectors executed the same day. The failure of the warrant to specify when it should be executed by, Rule 41 says in 14 days, doesn’t void the warrant. United States v. Odubajo, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3968 (N.D. Ohio Jan. 9, 2026).
No malicious prosecution claim for pretrial detention under a judicial order issued on probable cause. Besosa-Noceda v. Torres, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 319 (1st Cir. Jan. 7, 2026).*
The information as a whole shows probable cause. (The court alludes to Franks, but it’s not remotely an issue.) State v. Starkey, 2026-Ohio-42 (5th Dist. Jan. 8, 2026).*
2255 petitioner fails on standing to contest of search of this laptop. Based on all the court can see, including the PSR description, the laptop belonged to his employer, not him. All the electronic devices of the employer were seized. Sejnoha v. United States, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3711 (D.S.D. Jan. 5, 2026).
Petitioner’s guilty plea waived his search claim. Martinez-Rodriguez v. United States, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 269822 (S.D. Tex. Dec. 15, 2025).*
The exclusionary rule doesn’t apply to supervised release violation hearings. United States v. Davis, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2381 (E.D. Mo. Jan. 7, 2026).*
The question in a probable cause for pretrial detention case is: excluding the alleged false information, is there still probable cause. If so, no Fourth Amendment violation. Blankenship v. Gray, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2342 (W.D. Wis. Jan. 6, 2026).*
In direct appeal of his conviction, defendant was found not to have standing in the mobile home he burned because he no longer had any reasonable expectation of privacy in it. He’s Stoned out on habeas too. Sindone v. Miniard, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3689 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 8, 2026).*
Defendant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim for failing to file a motion to suppress a search clearly based on probable cause is rejected. State v. Paglinawan, 2026 N.M. App. LEXIS 2 (Jan. 9, 2026).*
Defendant was under investigation for drug trafficking with controlled buys. He was followed to a street mailbox outside a store and deposited packages. Officers opened the mailbox, retrieved the packages, and obtained search warrants for them, finding drugs. There was probable cause. The good faith exception applies. United States v. Brandstrom, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4103 (D. Minn. Jan. 9, 2026).*
"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]
“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.
