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IL: Girlfriend with free access to defendant's computer could consent to its search

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The defendant got in an argument with his girlfriend over his looking at underage nudity on his computer, and he hit her. She called the police, and they came. She told them the reason for the argument, and she consented to a search of the computer. She had apparent authority. He told her to get out of the house, but she hadn’t left yet, and she had unrestricted use of the premises and the computer. Therefore, she could consent to a search of his computer as a user. People v. Bell, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 744 (July 9, 2010). Defendant’s vehicle stop was in an area known for stolen vehicles, and that was the basis for his stop and the car looked suspicious in the area, although it turned out it wasn’t stolen. There was, at least, reasonable suspicion for the stop...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on July 31, 2010 (boomark / email).