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Unauthorized driver of a rental car did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Recognizing a split of authority among the circuits, and an absence of controlling precedent in the Eleventh Circuit, the Middle District of Florida follows the weight of authority and holds that an unauthorized driver does not have standing in a rental car. United States v. Crisp, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12867 (M.D. Fla. February 21, 2008): While the Eleventh Circuit has remained silent on the issue before this Court, several other circuit courts of appeal have issued decisions considering whether an unauthorized driver of a rented vehicle can challenge a search of that vehicle. Indeed, the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeal have recognized that, as a general proposition, an unauthorized driver of a rental vehicle does not have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the vehicle, even though he or she received permission from the lessee to operate it...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on February 24, 2008 (boomark / email).