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CA3: Defendant's live-in girlfriend validly consented, and Randolph doesn't apply to an absent "objector"

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant’s girlfriend with whom he live mistakenly believed she was his wife, but he wasn’t yet divorced from his first wife. Nevertheless, she had common authority to consent to a seizure and search of his computers. He was not present so Randolph-type revocation did not apply. Defendant’s claim that the government acted unreasonably in waiting three months to search the computer was undercut by the fact he didn’t ask for return of the hard drives for 18 months. United States v. Stabile, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 1945 (3d Cir. February 1, 2011)*: Here, Deetz had authority to consent and voluntarily consented. Deetz had common authority to consent to a search of the house because, as a cohabitant, she mutually used the property along with Stabile and exercised joint access and control over the house...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on February 04, 2011 (boomark / email).