Illinois Search & Seizure

John Wesley Hall is a criminal defense lawyer and NACDL’s 50th Past President. In 2002, he received NACDL’s Heeney Award, NACDL’s most prestigious recognition. A student of the Fourth Amendment and law of legal ethics in criminal defense practice and prosecutorial misconduct for over 50 years, he has argued twice in the U.S. Supreme Court, authored numerous merits and amicus briefs in the Supreme Court for NACDL and others, and he has argued in five federal circuit courts and three other state high courts. He has made approximately 200 CLE presentations in the United States, Canada, and The Hague. His blog—fourthamendment.com—has earned a spot in the Feedspot Top 80 Law Blogs and ABA Journal’s Blawg 100. As an ethics advisor, Mr. Hall has been consulted by at least 900 criminal lawyers seeking confidential counsel on ethics issues in the United States, Military Courts, Canada, and international tribunals. He also wrote or co-wrote nearly all of NACDL’s ethics advisory opinions to date. He has handled nearly 500 jury trials and over 400 appeals, having made at least 90 oral arguments. He tried a war crimes trial in the Special Court of Sierra Leone in 2004-06 for mass murder and other crimes in violation of the Geneva Convention. His first job out of law school was as a deputy prosecuting attorney (1973-79), and he wrote the cert petition that was granted in Arkansas v. Sanders, but the state ultimately lost. He is the author of Search and Seizure (6th ed. 2025, LexisNexis Publishing), Professional Responsibility in Criminal Defense Practice (4th ed. 2023, Thomson West), and Trial Handbook for Arkansas Lawyers (4th ed. 2018, Thomson West). He is a Fellow in the invitation-only American Board of Criminal Lawyers, peer review listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers, and A-V rated by Martindale-Hubbell. His practice includes trials, appeals, and some post-conviction litigation concentrating in the areas of drugs, sex, violence, and search and seizure.

Jessica Koester has dedicated her entire legal career to practicing criminal defense. She focuses on high-level state and federal crimes that often involve constitutional questions. She is passionate about justice and tireless in its pursuit.

Mrs. Koester obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois. After graduation, she attended the University of Notre Dame where she earned her Juris Doctorate.

Immediately upon completing law school, Mrs. Koester began working for a small firm focusing on criminal defense. In the early stage of her career, she honed her skills on traffic and misdemeanor cases, as well as low-level felonies. After working with the firm for nearly nine years, Mrs. Koester opened her own law firm, The Law Office of Jessica Koester, LLC, in 2010. Since that time, she has dedicated her career to assisting those charged with crimes, especially serious felonies, like homicide, predatory criminal sexual assault, bank fraud, and drug trafficking.