Opinion ID: 2352098
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Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Third Party Consent to Search Common Authority Over Premises

Text: The United States and Delaware Constitutions protect the right of persons to be secure from unreasonable searches and seizures. U.S. Const. amend. IV; Del. Const. art. I, § 6. Searches and seizures are per se unreasonable, in the absence of exigent circumstances, unless authorized by a warrant supported by probable cause. Hanna v. State, Del.Supr., 591 A.2d 158, 162 (1991). A recognized exception to the warrant requirement, however, is for searches that are conducted pursuant to a valid consent. See Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 221-22, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 2044-45, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973). To be valid, a consent to search must be voluntary. Id. The person giving such consent must also have the authority to do so. United States v. Matlock, 415 U.S. 164, 171, 94 S.Ct. 988, 993, 39 L.Ed.2d 242 (1974). DeShields v. State, Del.Supr., 534 A.2d 630, 643 (1987) (citing United States v. Matlock, 415 U.S. 164, 171, 94 S.Ct. 988, 993, 39 L.Ed.2d 242 (1974)). Third party authority to consent to a search must include both possession and equal or greater control, vis-a-vis the owner, over the area to be searched. Ledda v. State, Del.Supr., 564 A.2d 1125, 1128 (1989). [2]