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OH5: Driver of rental car not on the contract still had standing

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Driver of a rental car not on the contract, and thus "unauthorized" still had standing to challenge an inventory of the car. To hold otherwise would subject a huge number of people to unauthorized searches. State v. Henderson, 2008 Ohio 5007, 2008 Ohio App. LEXIS 4219 (5th Dist. September 26, 2008): [*P29] In this case, appellant was operating a rented vehicle, and was not an authorized driver of the vehicle. No one present at the stop was an authorized driver of the vehicle. [*P30] Therefore, the issue is whether appellant's mere possessionary use, though unlawful use, can bootstrap the issue of standing. Under the very strict interpretation of the facts sub judice, we find appellant had standing to challenge the search. Appellant's possession may have been contractually unauthorized, but this was a civil wrong, not a criminal wrong...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on October 02, 2008 (boomark / email).