Criminal Law – Emphasizing Privacy of the Home and Limiting Third Party Consent Under the State Constitution

Massachusetts Law Review, Vol. 93, No. 3, 2011

7 Pages Posted: 27 Apr 2011

See all articles by Lawrence Friedman

Lawrence Friedman

New England Law | Boston

David M. Siegel

New England Law | Boston

Date Written: April 27, 2011

Abstract

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Porter P. makes four important contributions to search and seizure jurisprudence under the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. First, the decision reinforces the significance of residential privacy protection. Second, the decision specifies the requirements for valid third party consent for police entry to search. Third, the decision resolves the applicability of the doctrine of apparent authority, under which police searches authorized by one who appears to but in fact lacks authority to consent, may nevertheless be upheld. Finally, the decision shows the court’s commitment to extend state constitutional privacy protections beyond those provided by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The court’s treatment of third party consent sets forth a new standard that third parties, either coinhabitants or landlords, must meet in order to exercise actual authority to consent to a search. Further, in addressing third party consent, the court explicitly adopts the doctrine of apparent authority under the state constitution and establishes steps police must take for entries and searches based upon apparent authority to survive. Importantly, the decision builds logically upon state constitutional precedents and rejects the cost-benefit and historical analyses of search and seizure issues often favored by the federal courts.

Keywords: criminal procedure, search and seizure, apparent authority, privacy, third party consent

Suggested Citation

Friedman, Lawrence and Siegel, David M., Criminal Law – Emphasizing Privacy of the Home and Limiting Third Party Consent Under the State Constitution (April 27, 2011). Massachusetts Law Review, Vol. 93, No. 3, 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1824722

Lawrence Friedman (Contact Author)

New England Law | Boston ( email )

154 Stuart Street
Boston, MA 02116
United States
617-451-0010 (Phone)

David M. Siegel

New England Law | Boston ( email )

154 Stuart St.
Boston, MA 02116
United States
(617) 422-7270 (Phone)
(617) 422-7453 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.nesl.edu/clsr/

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