Opinion ID: 759769
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Legality Of Search Of Storage Locker

Text: 16 In a second allegation of error, the defendant insists that the district court should have suppressed all evidence obtained from the search of the storage locker rented by Abdullah because knowing and voluntary consent for the search was not given. The defendant argues that he was, at the time of the search, a relatively recent arrival to the United States from Yemen and that he was not then fluent in nor comfortable with the English language. In response, the government asserts that the issue of consent need not be visited on this appeal because, as found by the district court, Abdullah admitted he had no possessory interest in the storage locker after October 31, 1994, four days prior to the search at issue. 17 Fourth Amendment jurisprudence is now well-settled that protections from unreasonable searches and seizures do not depend upon a property right in the invaded place but upon whether the person who claims the protection of the Amendment has a legitimate expectation of privacy in the invaded place. Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 143, 99 S.Ct. 421, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978) (citing Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 353, 88 S.Ct. 507, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967)). Because Abdullah firmly and unequivocally denied that he had extended the rental agreement for the storage locker beyond October 31, 1994, the district court did not err in concluding that the defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the locker and, therefore, no standing to contest the search of it. 18 Even if Abdullah had standing to contest the search, however, it is clear that he gave a valid consent to the search. The district judge discredited the defendant's claims that he was unable to understand the search request. Instead, the court explicitly found as a matter of fact that the testimony of [the police officers] was credible, that there was a consent given, and I find the testimony of Mr. Abdullah is not credible as to the consent. 19 The question of whether a consent to search is voluntary and knowing is a question of fact to be determined from the totality of all the circumstances. See Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 227, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973). Moreover, the burden of establishing the validity of the consent is upon the government. Id. In this case, the district court did not clearly err in concluding that the government proved Abdullah's consent to search was knowing and voluntary. Numerous individuals testified to the circumstances surrounding the request for consent and explained that the atmosphere during the conversations with the defendant were congenial, that Abdullah spoke freely, intelligently, and at length with the officers about other subjects, and that the defendant seemed to understand the requests made of him. We thus find no merit to the defendant's challenge to the legality of the search of the storage unit.