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posted by Dopefish on Friday February 28 2014, @06:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the freedom-is-not-free dept.

GungnirSniper writes "By a six to three vote, the US Supreme Court has ruled police may enter a home if one occupant allows it even after another previously did not consent.

In the decision on Tuesday in Fernandez v. California, the Court determined since the suspect, Walter Fernandez, was removed from the home and arrested, his live-in girlfriend's consent to search was enough. The Court had addressed a similar case in 2006 in Georgia v. Randolph, but found that since the suspect was still in the home and against the search, it should have kept authorities from entering.

RT.com notes "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined in the minority by Justices Kagan and Sotomayor, marking a gender divide among the Justices in the case wrote the dissenting opinion, calling the decision a blow to the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits 'unreasonable searches and seizures.'"

Could this lead to police arresting people objecting to searches to remove the need for warrants?"

 
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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Gryle on Friday February 28 2014, @07:56PM

    by Gryle (2777) on Friday February 28 2014, @07:56PM (#8728)

    According to the NPR version of the story, the woman let the police enter the house and the suspect emerged after they had done so shouting the police didn't have the right to enter. The suspect was arrested and then the police later went back to the house and again got permission from the woman to enter. I think the nuance of her allowing them access prior to the arrest is what made the court vote the way it did.

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    Ignorance can be remedied. Stupid seems to be a permanent condition.
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  • (Score: 1) by rts008 on Friday February 28 2014, @09:17PM

    by rts008 (3001) on Friday February 28 2014, @09:17PM (#8787)

    That was the exact way it was described in TFA.

    Yes, I DID RTFA...what can I say, I'm new here! ;-)

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by davester666 on Saturday March 01 2014, @04:32AM

      by davester666 (155) on Saturday March 01 2014, @04:32AM (#8963)

      Go back to /. We don't like your kind around here!