[Read for “Third Party Consent”]
In Georgia v. Randolph (2006), the Court held that one occupant can veto the consent to search given by another occupant. In Fernandez v. California (2014), the Court was asked to clarify how long such a veto lasts. If one resident denies consent, may the police return at a later time when that resident is not present? How long must they wait?
The good folks at SCOTUSblog have provided a nice analysis of the opinion here and here. You should read both of these short articles.
Notice the prevalence of domestic violence as a subtext in most of these co-occupancy consent cases. Given our current utter failure as a society to deal with the problem of domestic violence (especially where NFL players are involved, it seems), what does this say about the Court’s reconsideration of the Georgia v. Randolph holding? Does Fernandez really address the problems raised in the Chief Justice’s dissent in Randolph?
