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Motel clerk's request for assistance in making sure room was clear justified a plain view

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Motel clerk asked for police assistance in making sure that suspicious occupants were no longer in the room. The clerk opened the door with the police in tow, and that qualified for plain view of what was seen. Johnson v. State, 2008 Ga. App. LEXIS 857 (July 16, 2008) (over a dissent)*: On appeal, Johnson argues that the search of the room was unlawful because the officers did not have authority to enter the motel room when they had no search warrant, no consent to enter, or exigent circumstances that justified their warrantless intrusion. Although the United States Supreme Court has held that the consent of a motel employee to the search of a motel room does not validate the search, there is no Georgia precedent or binding federal precedent which makes it unlawful for the police to enter a motel room upon the request of motel employees to ensure the safety of the employees...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on July 22, 2008 (boomark / email).