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E.D.Tenn.: No key to a locked cabinent was not common authority to consent to a search

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The consenter did not have common authority to access a locked gun cabinet where he lacked a key. He also did not have apparent authority. United States v. Sharp, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71045 (E.D. Tenn. June 10, 2009): While the Court acknowledges that guns in the closet once belonged to, or perhaps, in title only, continued to belong to, Mack Sharp, the testimony at the hearing and the facts of this case indicate that Mack Sharp no longer had access to the contents of the closet or the cabinet. All the evidence presented to the Court supported the conclusion that the Defendant possessed the only key to the closet and cabinet. In addition to not possessing the key, Mack Sharp did not indicate to officers that he had any knowledge of what key might open the closet and cabinet nor did he indicate that he ever accessed the closet and cabinet using the Defendant's keys...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on August 15, 2009 (boomark / email).