Page 100 - North Carolina 2020 Legal Guide

Task: Consent Search-Contradictory Co-Occupants

Fernandez v. California, 134 S. Ct. 1126 (U.S. 2014).

•Consent is valid if made by someone who has authority to consent and

no co-occupant is physically present and objecting.

•In the event that law enforcement has removed a co-occupant, even

one who has previously objected to law enforcement’s entry, the

consent of the occupant who is present is valid as long as the removal

of the objector was objectively reasonable.

•Where the removal was the result of a valid detention or valid arrest,

the removal is objectively reasonable.

©2020 Jack Ryan Legal & Liability Risk Management Institute 99