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GA: Mere fact defendant was handcuffed did not make his consent invalid

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The fact defendant was handcuffed did not make consent invalid. “Finally, we reject Silverio’s argument that he merely acquiesced to a claim of lawful authority in allowing the search, as his assertion is not supported by the evidence. Rather, he and his sister testified that the officers never asked for his consent to search the premises. Having denied that officers requested his consent, Silverio cannot now claim that he permitted a search.” Silverio v. State, 2010 Ga. App. LEXIS 964 (October 13, 2010).* Defendant had no objectively reasonable expectation of privacy in a shopping bag of drugs that he handed over to a co-conspirator who put it in the co-conspirator’s car when that other car was searched. He may have had a subjective expectation of privacy, but it was not one that society would recognize as reasonable...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on October 18, 2010 (boomark / email).