Common Area - Case Law

Case Law

In Maryland v. Garrison, the US Supreme Court found that police may enter a common area when executing a search warrant. Also, in Illinois v. Rodriguez the US Supreme Court held that "a warrantless entry is valid when based upon the consent of a third party whom the police, at the time of the entry, reasonably believe to possess common authority over the premises, but who in fact does not do so." Furthermore, the court held:

a person who permits others to have "joint access or control for most purposes ... assume the risk that might permit the common area to be searched." 415 U.S., at 171, n. 7; see also Frazier v. Cupp, 394 U.S. 731, 740 (1969) (holding that defendant who left a duffel bag at another's house and allowed joint use of the bag "assumed the risk that would allow someone else to look inside"). As the Court's assumption-of-risk analysis makes clear, third-party consent limits a person's ability to challenge the reasonableness of the search only because that person voluntarily has relinquished some of his expectation of privacy by sharing access or control over his property with another person. —