NCJ Number
129790
Journal
Crime to Court Dated: (November 1990) Pages: 5-14
Date Published
1990
Length
10 pages
Annotation
In the 1990 decision in Illinois v. Rodriguez, the United States Supreme Court overturned the decision of the Illinois Supreme Court and held that a third party's consent to an entry and search is valid, even if the third party is not legally authorized to consent, if it is reasonable for the police officers to believe the consent to be valid.
Abstract
The Chicago police had entered Rodriguez's apartment with the help of Fischer, who, with her two small children, had lived with Rodriguez for several months and had moved out nearly a month before the search at issue. After she moved out she sometimes spent the night at Rodriguez's apartment, although her name was not on the lease and she did not contribute to the rent. She had a key to the apartment which she said she had taken without Rodriguez's knowledge. The Supreme Court held that the fourth amendment prohibits unreasonable searches, but that a police action can be reasonable even if the police have made a mistake regarding the facts. In the Rodriguez case, the police action was a reasonable response to the situation they faced: it was reasonable for them to believe that Fischer had authority over the premises.