SAN DIEGO DISTRICT ATTORNEY The Fourth Amendment and ...

when the son did not pay rent, and there was no evidence of
any agreement on the part of the parent not to enter the
son’s room. (United States v. Rith (10 th Cir. 1999) 164
F.3 rd 1323.)
Father, with the apparent authority to allow police officers
to search his entire residence, including the bedroom of his
adult son, under circumstances where the father and
defendant son had apparent free access to each other’s
room, validly authorized police to enter the son’s room.
(People v. Oodham (2000) 81 Cal.App.4 th 1.)
Query: If the adult child is paying rent and there is
nothing else to suggest that the parents have free
access to the child’s room, would not the landlordtenant
rules (See Civil Code §§ 789.3, 1954) be
applicable?
Parents have to have access to their minor child’s bedroom
and the power to give consent to the search of the bedroom
to the police in order to properly execute their duty of
supervision and control over the child. “In the absence of
evidence suggesting a parent has abdicated this role toward
his or her child, police officers may reasonably conclude
that a parent can validly consent to the search of a minor
child's bedroom.” (In re D.C. (2010) 188 Cal.App.4 th 978.)
The Court reaffirmed the California Supreme
Court’s decision in In re Scott K., supra, noting that
a minor may retain the right to exclude others from
areas that are exclusive to the minor (a footlocker
which was locked by the child). (In re D.C., supra,
at pp. 987-988.)
The Court also rejected the contrary rule of United
States v. Whitfield (D.C. Cir. 1991) 291 U.S.
App.D.C. 243 [939 F.2 nd 1071], which held that a
parent does not have the authority to consent to the
search of their adult son’s bedroom. (Id., at pp.
986-987 .)
Child: Whether or not a child may validly allow police into the
family residence depends upon a determination whether, under the
circumstances, it is reasonable to believe that the child had the
authority to do so.
© 2011 Robert C. Phillips. All rights reserved
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