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MA: Leaving bags by side of road was a waiver of any REP

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant's leaving belongings by side of the road was a waiver of his reasonable expectation of privacy. The fact the defendant may have thought he would get back to them did create a reasonable expectation of privacy. Commonwealth v. Nattoo, 2009 Mass. LEXIS 1 (January 6, 2009), aff'g [and essentially adopting] Commonwealth v. Nattoo, 70 Mass. App. Ct. 625, 876 N.E.2d 431 (2007),posted here: The judge rejected the Commonwealth's argument that the police conducted a proper inventory search. The search was not permissible as an inventory search because, she concluded, the bags searched were not in the possession of, or carried by, the defendant at the time of his arrest. In addition, Officer Crevier failed to follow the department's inventory policy by preparing a written inventory report at the time he searched the bags or at the time he arrived at the police station with the bags...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on January 08, 2009 (boomark / email).