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CA6: Consenter had no apparent or actual authority; suppression should have been granted

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The district court erred in finding that the owner of property who three years earlier signed a no trespass letter had common authority over the property at the time of consent. “Furthermore, it goes without saying that even a party with authority over the premises at the time of a search cannot grant consent retroactively.” The officers had no consent from anyone with actual or apparent authority. As to the government’s alternative basis for the search, a lack of standing, the defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy at least as an overnight guest. The District Court erred in not suppressing the search. United States v. Kimber, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 18531, 2010 FED App. 0583N (6th Cir. September 2, 2010) (unpublished)*: Further, we have no doubt that society would recognize Kimber's subjective expectation of privacy as reasonable...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on September 05, 2010 (boomark / email).