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CA8: Consent to search the person includes the pockets, not just what's in his hands

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Consent to search a person includes his pockets, not just what he was carrying. United States v. Dinwiddie, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17753 (8th Cir. August 25, 2010): Dinwiddie was observed exiting a house to which a controlled delivery of drugs had just been made. He was observed carrying what appeared to be a packing slip from the just completed drug delivery. Police officers approached him and asked him if he would consent to a search of his person. He agreed. In this context, a reasonable person would have understood his consent to include his pants pocket and the recently observed packing slip therein. Dinwiddie disagrees, relying upon language in Siwek to argue that the scope of his consent was limited to the objects about which he was just questioned--weapons and drugs...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on August 28, 2010 (boomark / email).