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MA: Reasonable expectation of privacy found in a homeless shelter

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A juvenile and his mother living in a homeless shelter ("transitional family shelter") had a reasonable expectation in their living quarters. It wasn't palatial, but it was their home. Commonwealth v. Porter P., 2010 Mass. LEXIS 52 (March 11, 2010), rev'g Commonwealth v. Porter P., 73 Mass. App. Ct. 85, 895 N.E.2d 775 (2008): The room that the juvenile and his mother shared at the shelter was a transitional living space, but it was nonetheless their home. The juvenile slept and kept his belongings in the room. He and his mother possessed a key to the room, allowing them the degree of privacy inherent in a locked door. The fact that he did not own the room, that he was limited in his use of the room, and that shelter staff members had a master key and could enter the room "for professional business purposes" does not diminish the legitimacy of his privacy interest in the room...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 12, 2010 (boomark / email).