Opinion ID: 1195356
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Seizure of defendant's briefcase

Text: In a motion to suppress evidence brought pursuant to section 1538.5, defendant contended that the seizure of his briefcase and its contents from his sister's home violated his right under the Fourth Amendment to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The trial court denied the motion, finding that a warrant authorizing the search of defendant's Jeep, which had contained the briefcase until it was removed by defendant's sister, authorized the search of the briefcase; that defendant's sister consented to the seizure of the briefcase; that the contents of the briefcase inevitably would have been discovered, because a warrant would have issued to authorize the search; and finally, that exigent circumstances justified the search of the briefcase. Defendant contends the trial court erred as to each ground stated in denying the motion to suppress. He also contends that to the extent it found his sister, Diane Jenkins, had consented to the search, the court erred in determining that her consent was voluntary. Respondent contends defendant lacked a reasonable expectation of privacy in his briefcase, and that the trial court correctly determined that the search was reasonable on the grounds of consent, inevitable discovery, and exigent circumstances. In addition, respondent contends any error in admitting the evidence was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the court properly denied the motion to suppress because the search was consensual. In reviewing the trial court's denial of a motion to suppress evidence, we view the record in the light most favorable to the trial court's ruling, deferring to those express or implied findings of fact supported by substantial evidence. ( People v. Alvarez (1996) 14 Cal.4th 155, 182, 58 Cal.Rptr.2d 385, 926 P.2d 365; People v. Miranda (1993) 17 Cal.App.4th 917, 922, 21 Cal.Rptr.2d 785.) We independently review the trial court's application of the law to the facts. ( People v. Alvarez, supra, 14 Cal.4th at p. 182, 58 Cal.Rptr.2d 385, 926 P.2d 365.) The hearing on the motion to suppress produced the following evidence. Detective Holder of the Los Angeles Police Department served a search warrant at defendant's residence on November 2, 1985. A neighbor informed him that on the previous evening, some persons had removed property from the residence. The neighbor supplied Holder with the license number of the vehicle used to remove the property. On the following day, Holder, along with several other officers, went to the address where the vehicle was registered. Holder testified that the occupant, Diane Jenkins, who informed Officer Holder that the residence was hers, permitted him to enter when he told her he was conducting an investigation of a murder of a police officer and asked whether he and other officers could come in and look around. He did not have a warrant. Ms. Jenkins consented verbally to the search, and she signed a written form indicating her consent and also noting that she paid the rent on the premises. When Holder asked whether there were weapons in the house, she affirmed that there were, leading him to her bedroom and disclosing the location of two guns she asserted belonged to her boyfriend. Almost simultaneously with his request to conduct the search, Holder asked whether there was any property belonging to her brother, defendant, in the home. Holder believed that she understood he was there to investigate a murder in which her brother might be involved. When Holder asked whether the residence contained any property belonging to her brother, Ms. Jenkins responded that there was a briefcase belonging to him. When she handed the unlocked briefcase to him in her bedroom, he opened it to determine whether it contained firearms, in particular the murder weapon, which to his knowledge had not been recovered. He also examined the contents of the briefcase to aid in identifying additional suspects, finding that it contained a binder with the name Dan on it, various papers, some with names, addresses, and telephone numbers on them, photographs, and a vehicle license. He took the briefcase with him when he left the premises after concluding the search. Ms. Jenkins indicated in writing that the property seized during the search, specifically including the briefcase and its contents, was given to Detective Holder by me freely without threat or promise. Detective Thies testified that he received the briefcase from Holder and examined its contents. It contained a license plate, a phone message retrieval apparatus, a combination knife, brass knuckles, a book containing defendant's limousine listings, phone bills, a telephone and address book with notations in defendant's handwriting, another telephone and address book bearing another person's handwriting, and a business card. In addition, there was a piece of paper bearing Elihue Broomfield's telephone number. The materials found in the briefcase also contained the telephone numbers of Reecy Cooper and Tyrone Hicks, and the address and telephone number of Anthony Bryant. Diane Jenkins testified at the hearing on the motion to suppress that she had learned of defendant's arrest on November 1, 1985, from a person whose identity she could not recall. She did not talk to defendant on that date. At her mother's request, she picked up defendant's unlocked Jeep at the San Fernando courthouse, finding the keys under the floor mat. She removed the briefcase from the Jeep and placed it in her residence. She spent the night at defendant's home, fearing it might be subject to a break-in in his absence. She testified that when Holder arrived at her home on November 2, 1985, she asked whether he had a search warrant, and he responded that he did not, but that unless she consented to a search, he would arrest her on an outstanding traffic warrant and search the premises anyway. She stated that Holder observed the briefcase in her bedroom, seized it, and examined its contents. She testified that she was under duress when she signed the form indicating her consent to the search and the removal of property from her residence. The trial court stated that it believed several exceptions to the search warrant requirement applied. First, it declared that the officers possessed a warrant to search defendant's Jeep, and stated its belief that there is a good argument that that briefcase had been in the car; that the search warrant authorized a search of the car and authorized a search of Mr. Jenkins's property inside the house; that there actually was a search warrant to cover it. The court added, I think the other theory is possibly a consent theory, although I somewhat agree [with defense counsel's argument] that consent to turn it over or turning it over doesn't necessarily give consent to open it and to search, in and of itself. Other theories the court found possibly applicable were inevitable discovery and exigent circumstances. With respect to the first, the court explained: there had been a search warrant for the car and the property. It would not have taken long for them [the police] to have gotten a search warrant and opened the briefcase. With respect to the second, it explained: I really do think that the emergency exception, the exigent circumstances exception, applies when you have a nine-millimeter weapon outstanding that has yet to be found. And based on the information in the affidavit, there was a very good chance that it might have been found within the briefcase. The Fourth Amendment protects an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy against unreasonable intrusion on the part of the government. A warrant is required unless certain exceptions apply, including the exception that permits consensual searches. ( Florida v. Jimeno (1991) 500 U.S. 248, 250-251, 111 S.Ct. 1801, 114 L.Ed.2d 297; In re Tyrell J. (1994) 8 Cal.4th 68, 79, 32 Cal.Rptr.2d 33, 876 P.2d 519.) As the high court has explained: The touchstone of the Fourth Amendment is reasonableness. [Citation.] The Fourth Amendment does not proscribe all state-initiated searches and seizures; it merely proscribes those which are unreasonable. ( Florida v. Jimeno, supra, 500 U.S. at p. 250, 111 S.Ct. 1801.) A warrantless search may be reasonable not only if the defendant consents to the search, but also if a person other than the defendant with authority over the premises voluntarily consents to the search. ( United States v. Matlock (1974) 415 U.S. 164, 170-171, 94 S.Ct. 988, 39 L.Ed.2d 242 [person sharing a bedroom with defendant had authority to consent to a search of the premises and diaper bag found therein]; see also Frazier v. Cupp (1969) 394 U.S. 731, 740, 89 S.Ct. 1420, 22 L.Ed.2d 684 [cousin had authority to consent to search of the defendant's duffel bag, which both men used and which had been left in the cousin's home].) Further, the United States Supreme Court has stated that in order to claim the protection of the Fourth Amendment, a defendant must demonstrate that he personally has an expectation of privacy in the place searched, and that his expectation is reasonable; i.e., one which has `a source outside of the Fourth Amendment, either by reference to concepts of real or personal property law or to understandings that are recognized and permitted by society.' ( Minnesota v. Carter (1998) 525 U.S. 83, 88, 119 S.Ct. 469, 142 L.Ed.2d 373, quoting Rakas v. Illinois (1978) 439 U.S. 128, 134, 99 S.Ct. 421, 58 L.Ed.2d 387.) The defendant must assert a reasonable expectation of privacy in `the particular area searched or thing seized in order to bring a Fourth Amendment challenge.' ( People v. McPeters, supra, 2 Cal.4th at p. 1171, 9 Cal.Rptr.2d 834, 832 P.2d 146, italics in original.) A defendant has the burden at trial of establishing a legitimate expectation of privacy in the place searched or the thing seized. (See Rakas v. Illinois, supra, 439 U.S. at pp. 130-131, fn. 1, 134, 99 S.Ct. 421; see also People v. McPeters, supra, 2 Cal.4th at p. 1172, 9 Cal.Rptr.2d 834, 832 P.2d 146.) The prosecution has the burden of establishing the reasonableness of a warrantless search. (See People v. Williams (1988) 45 Cal.3d 1268, 1300, 248 Cal.Rptr. 834, 756 P.2d 221; see also United States v. Matlock, supra, 415 U.S. at pp. 171, 177, 94 S.Ct. 988.) The state may carry its burden of demonstrating the reasonableness of a search by demonstrating that the officer conducting the search had a reasonable belief that the person consenting to the search had authority to do so; it is not required that the state establish that the person consenting to the search had actual authority to consent. ( Illinois v. Rodriguez (1990) 497 U.S. 177, 186, 110 S.Ct. 2793, 111 L.Ed.2d 148; see also People v. Jacobs (1987) 43 Cal.3d 472, 481, 233 Cal.Rptr. 323, 729 P.2d 757; People v. Bishop (1996) 44 Cal.App.4th 220, 236, 51 Cal.Rptr.2d 629.) Defendant failed to assert that he had any possessory interest or legitimate expectation of privacy in his sister's home, so he failed to establish that the search of the home itself violated his own constitutional rights. Defendant did, however, assert that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy in his briefcase, and we assume for the purpose of this appeal that he carried his burden of showing a legitimate expectation of privacy in that object. [10] Nonetheless, we conclude that the search of the briefcase was reasonable by virtue of defendant's sister's voluntary consent to the search. At the outset, defendant contends that his sister's consent to search her home and the briefcase was not voluntary. (See Schneckloth v. Bustamonte (1973) 412 U.S. 218, 227, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 [whether consent was voluntary or was the product of coercion on the part of searching officers is a question of fact to be determined from the totality of the circumstances].) The evidence at the hearing on the motion to suppress was in sharp conflict on this point. Detective Holder testified that defendant's sister was friendly and cooperative, and readily consented to the search without the application of any pressure on the part of the police. He denied threatening her with arrest. She memorialized her consent in writing, stating that it was freely given. Ms. Jenkins testified, however, that her consent to the search was coerced by a threat to arrest her on an outstanding warrant if she refused to supply her consent. We view the record in the light most favorable to the trial court's ruling, deferring to those express or implied findings of fact supported by substantial evidence. (See People v. Alvarez, supra, 14 Cal.4th at p. 182, 58 Cal.Rptr.2d 385, 926 P.2d 365; People v. Miranda, supra, 17 Cal.App.4th at pp. 921-922, 21 Cal.Rptr.2d 785.) It is evident from the trial court's reliance upon consent as a justification for the search that the trial court resolved in favor of the prosecution the factual dispute regarding the circumstances under which Ms. Jenkins granted her consent, and did not credit her testimony that her consent was the product of a threat to arrest her. We defer to this implied factual determination, which is supported by substantial evidence. Consequently, we reject defendant's contention that Ms. Jenkins's consent to the search was involuntary. We next turn to the question whether the voluntary consent given by Ms. Jenkins established the search as reasonable. Ms. Jenkins clearly had authority to consent to a search of her own apartment  a place in which defendant had no possessory interest. In some circumstances, however, the consent to a search given by a person with authority to consent to a search of the premises does not necessarily supply consent to search personal property found within the premises. As Justice O'Connor explained in her concurring opinion in United States v. Karo (1984) 468 U.S. 705, 725, 104 S.Ct. 3296, 82 L.Ed.2d 530, [a] privacy interest in a home itself need not be coextensive with a privacy interest in the contents ... of everything situated inside the home. This has been recognized before in connection with third-party consent to searches. A homeowner's consent to a search of the home may not be effective consent to a search of a closed object inside the home. Consent to search a container or a place is effective only when given by one with `common authority over or other sufficient relationship to the premises or effects sought to be inspected.' United States v. Matlock, 415 U.S., at 171 [94 S.Ct. 988]. `Common authority ... rests ... on mutual use of the property by persons generally having joint access or control for most purposes....' Id., at 171, n. 7 [94 S.Ct. 988]. As this language indicates, at least two questions are presented when the state seeks to justify a warrantless search by relying upon the consent of a third party who is the occupant of the premises searched: whether the third party had authority to consent to the search, and whether the scope of the consent given included the object or container that was searched. In the resolution of these questions, as noted, the state may carry its burden by demonstrating that it was objectively reasonable for the searching officer to believe that the person giving consent had authority to do so, and to believe that the scope of the consent given encompassed the item searched. ( Florida v. Jimeno, supra, 500 U.S. at p. 251, 111 S.Ct. 1801 [scope of consent may be established by showing that the searching officers had an objectively reasonable basis to believe the consent included the item searched]; Illinois v. Rodriguez, supra, 497 U.S. at p. 186, 110 S.Ct. 2793 [search may be reasonable if officer had an objectively reasonable belief that the person consenting to the search had authority to do so].) In Florida v. Jimeno, supra, 500 U.S. 248, 111 S.Ct. 1801, 114 L.Ed.2d 297, the high court explained that the scope of consent usually is defined by the expressed object of the search. ( Id. at p. 251, 111 S.Ct. 1801.) In that case, where a police officer stopped a vehicle, informing the occupant of the officer's suspicion that the vehicle contained narcotics, the driver's consent to a search of the vehicle reasonably could be understood to include within its scope the search of a closed paper bag discovered within the vehicle. The standard for measuring the scope of consent, the court said, is to ask what would the typical reasonable person have understood by the exchange between the officer and the suspect. ( Ibid. ) The court pointed out that in granting permission to search the vehicle, the defendant did not place any explicit limitation on the scope of the search. ( Ibid. ) The officer had informed the defendant he believed the defendant was carrying narcotics, and that the officer would be looking for narcotics. The court concluded: We think that it was objectively reasonable for the police to conclude that the general consent to search respondent's car included consent to search containers within that car which might bear drugs. A reasonable person may be expected to know that narcotics are generally carried in some form of a container.... The authorization to search in this case, therefore, extended beyond the surfaces of the car's interior to the paper bag lying on the car's floor. ( Ibid. ) Although the court cautioned that the defendant's consent probably would not extend to a locked briefcase in the trunk of the car, the court rejected the defendant's contention that the police must request separate permission to search each container in the area to be searched. ( Florida v. Jimeno, supra, 500 U.S. at pp. 251-252, 111 S.Ct. 1801.) The court found no basis for adding such a requirement, observing that although a suspect may limit the scope of consent, if consent reasonably would be understood to extend to a container, no further authorization is required. ( Id. at p. 252, 111 S.Ct. 1801.) The court relied upon the public's interest in permitting consensual searches, stating that `[t]he community has a real interest in encouraging consent, for the resulting search may yield necessary evidence for the solution and prosecution of crime, evidence that may insure that a wholly innocent person is not wrongly charged with a criminal offense.' ( Ibid. ) Other courts and commentators have observed that open-ended consent to search normally does not suggest that the person consenting would expect the search to be limited in any way, and that a general consent to search includes consent to pursue the stated object of the search by opening closed containers. (See People v. $48,715 United States Currency (1997) 58 Cal.App.4th 1507, 1515, 68 Cal.Rptr.2d 829 [consent to search vehicle for drugs included seed bags and suitcases, or any area of the vehicle that might contain drugs]; United States v. Stewart (5th Cir.1996) 93 F.3d 189, 192 [consent to look at medicine bottle includes consent to examine contents]; United States v. Snow (2d Cir. 1995) 44 F.3d 133, 135 [consent to search vehicle for drugs includes consent to open and search a duffel bag inside the vehicle]; United States v. Zapata (1st Cir.1994) 18 F.3d 971, 977 [consent to search vehicle includes consent to search duffel bag found in trunk]; 3 LaFave, Search and Seizure (3d ed. 1996) § 8.1(c), p. 613 [general consent ordinarily may be understood to extend to an examination  in furtherance of the object of the search  of closed containers found in the area, particularly if the police have indicated they are searching for a small object which might be concealed in such a container]; see also Erwin et al, Cal. Criminal Defense Practice (1998 ed.) § 22.02[6], pp. 22-31 to 22-32 [consent to search generally implies consent to a complete search, unless a limitation is expressed]; but see United States v. Infante-Ruiz (1st Cir.1994) 13 F.3d 498, 504-505 [when third party consent to search a vehicle and trunk is qualified by a warning that the briefcase belonged to another, officers could not assume without further inquiry that the consent extended to the briefcase].) [11] Under the circumstances of the present case, the officers had an objectively reasonable basis to conclude that the scope of Diane Jenkins's consent included the briefcase. Detective Holder explained to Ms. Jenkins that he was investigating the murder of a police officer  an investigation that reasonably would be understood as involving an intensive search for such objects as weapons. When she granted open-ended consent to the search of her home, she had been informed that the officer was seeking evidence concerning her brother. In addition, having supplied consent to search, when asked whether any of her brother's belongings were in her home, she handed the officer her brother's briefcase. (See, e.g., People v. Fierro (1991) 1 Cal.4th 173, 217, fn. 14, 3 Cal.Rptr.2d 426, 821 P.2d 1302 [third party's consent to search her own purse, with statement that wallet contained therein was defendant's, arguably extends the scope of consent to include the wallet].) Her written consent indicated express consent to search her home, and included a statement that the briefcase had been given to Holder freely, without threat or promise. As noted, Holder was not required to seek separate consent for each container searched, providing the search otherwise was reasonable. ( Florida v. Jimeno, supra, 500 U.S. at pp. 251-252, 111 S.Ct. 1801.) A briefcase obviously is a container that readily may contain incriminating evidence, including weapons. Because the announced object of the search was evidence connected with the murder of a police officer  thus including weapons that could be hidden in a briefcase  and involving her brother, Ms. Jenkins's consent to search her home and her action in disclosing the location of the briefcase, identifying it as her brother's, and handing it to the police officer would be understood by a reasonable person to include consent to search the briefcase. As for Ms. Jenkins's authority to consent to the search of defendant's briefcase, it is settled that the consent of one who possesses common authority over premises or effects is valid as against the absent, nonconsenting person with whom that authority is shared. ( United States v. Matlock, supra, 415 U.S. at p. 170, 94 S.Ct. 988.) For example, in the Matlock case, the high court determined that the consent of a tenant who shared a bedroom with the defendant and was told that the police were searching for stolen currency was effective to justify a search of the bedroom, including a diaper bag found in a closet. ( Id. at pp. 166-167, 94 S.Ct. 988.) The court explained that the consent of a third party may be valid if that party possessed common authority over or other sufficient relationship to the premises or effects sought to be inspected. ( Id. at p. 171, 94 S.Ct. 988; see also People v. Clark (1993) 5 Cal.4th 950, 979, 22 Cal. Rptr.2d 689, 857 P.2d 1099; People v. Jacobs, supra, 43 Cal.3d at p. 481, 233 Cal. Rptr. 323, 729 P.2d 757.) Applying these rules, courts have determined in various circumstances that third parties were authorized to consent to a search of luggage, bags, or other personal belongings of a defendant. ( United States v. Davis (2d Cir.1992) 967 F.2d 84, 85, 86-87 [tenant has authority to consent to search of footlocker shared with defendant and of containers belonging to defendant found within the footlocker]; United States v. Falcon (10th Cir.1985) 766 F.2d 1469, 1474 [brother's consent to examination of defendant's audiotape marked confidential was authorized because the tape was discovered in a room occupied solely by the brother, and the brother had exclusive control over its contents]; United States v. Miroff (7th Cir.1979) 606 F.2d 777, 778-779 [dominant occupant of premises authorized to consent to search of defendant guests' personal belongings found in area subject to common use, especially because guests assumed the risk of inspection by assuring occupant there was nothing illicit therein]; State v. Schad (1981) 129 Ariz. 557, 633 P.2d 366, 372 [girlfriend authorized to consent to search of defendant's wallet, on ground that defendant assumed the risk she would permit inspection when he gave it to her]; Johnson v. State (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.1988) 519 So.2d 713, 714 [third party in whose possession defendant had left a suitcase had authority to consent to a search of the suitcase he identified as belonging to defendant]; United States v. Salinas-Cano (10th Cir.1992) 959 F.2d 861, 865 [not reasonable for officer to believe defendant's girlfriend had authority to consent to search of defendant's luggage found in her home when there was no evidence of mutual use or joint interest and control over the suitcase]; Owens v. State (1991) 322 Md. 616, 589 A.2d 59, 66-67 [officers could not reasonably believe occupant of apartment had authority to consent to search of luggage left behind by visitor, because there was no evidence of common authority over the bag].) The question before us is whether the facts available to the officer at the moment ... [would] `warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief that the consenting party had authority over the property as to which consent is given. ( Illinois v. Rodriguez, supra, 497 U.S. at p. 188, 110 S.Ct. 2793.) Under the circumstances of the present case, it was objectively reasonable to conclude Diane Jenkins had authority to consent to the search of defendant's briefcase, because it was reasonable for the officers to believe she had exercised control over the briefcase and had not only joint, but at the time of the search, exclusive access to it and control over it. It is reasonable to conclude that a family member who officers believe has retrieved a brother's belongings from his premises and stored such belongings in her own bedroom has at the very least joint access to and control over the belongings. Under the circumstances known to the officers at the time of the search  that shortly after defendant's arrest, items were removed in a vehicle registered to Diane Jenkins from the area named in a search warrant directed at defendant's residence and vehicles, and that the only item belonging to him remaining in her home was the briefcase  it was reasonable for the officers to conclude that Diane Jenkins had secured the briefcase at her brother's behest. Such a request, of course, would impose upon defendant the risk that Diane Jenkins might consent to a search of the briefcase. (See, e.g., Frazier v. Cupp, supra, 394 U.S. at p. 740, 89 S.Ct. 1420 [defendant, in permitting third party to use a duffel bag and in leaving the bag at the home of the third party, assumed the risk that [the third party] would allow someone else to look inside]; see also United States v. Matlock, supra, 415 U.S. at p. 171, fn. 7, 94 S.Ct. 988; People v. Jacobs, supra, 43 Cal.3d at p. 481, 233 Cal.Rptr. 323, 729 P.2d 757; United States v. Davis, supra, 967 F.2d at p. 88.) Some lower federal courts have asserted that authority to consent to a search depends in part upon a showing that the person consenting enjoyed not only access to and control over, but also mutual use of the property searched. (See, e.g., United States v. Whitfield (D.C.Cir.1991) 291 App. D.C. 243, 939 F.2d 1071, 1074 [mother lacked apparent authority to consent to search of adult son's bedroom without evidence that she enjoyed common use of the room and closet in which contraband was found]; see also United States v. Welch (9th Cir.1993) 4 F.3d 761, 764 [third party who jointly had rented vehicle with defendant had authority to consent to a search of the vehicle but lacked actual or apparent authority to consent to a search of the defendant's purse located in the trunk of the vehicle, because there was no evidence of joint access or control or use of the purse]; United States v. Salinas-Cano, supra, 959 F.2d at p. 863 [girlfriend lacked apparent authority to consent to search of defendant's suitcase left in her home, when he slept in the home several nights a week and maintained control over the suitcase, and there was no evidence his girlfriend used the suitcase].) The cases cited rely upon a footnote appearing in United States v. Matlock : Common authority is, of course, not to be implied from the mere property interest a third party has in the property. The authority which justifies the third-party consent does not rest upon the law of property, with its attendant historical and legal refinements, see Chapman v. United States, 365 U.S. 610 [81 S.Ct. 776, 5 L.Ed.2d 828] (landlord could not validly consent to the search of a house he had rented to another), Stoner v. California, 376 U.S. 483 [84 S.Ct. 889, 11 L.Ed.2d 856] (night hotel clerk could not validly consent to search of customer's room) but rests rather on mutual use of the property by persons generally having joint access or control for most purposes, so that it is reasonable to recognize that any of the co-inhabitants has the right to permit the inspection in his own right and that the others have assumed the risk that one of their number might permit the common area to be searched. ( United States v. Matlock, supra, 415 U.S. at p. 171, fn. 7, 94 S.Ct. 988, italics added.) This language, read in conjunction with the cases cited, however, addresses the problem of the authority of an owner, manager, or co-occupant of premises to consent to a search of those premises. In such a case, mutual use of the premises would be significant in establishing a third party's authority to consent to a search of the premises, because it certainly is not the case that every owner of property may consent to a search of his or her tenant's home. We do not believe, however, that the United States Supreme Court intended to require that in every circumstance in which a third party occupant of premises consents to the search of personal property of another located on the premises, authority to consent to search depends upon the third party's actual mutual use of the personal property, in addition to access to and control over the property. As we have explained, objects left in an area of common use or control may be within the scope of the consent given by a third party for a search of the common area. ( People v. Clark, supra, 5 Cal.4th at p. 979, 22 Cal.Rptr.2d 689, 857 P.2d 1099.) We believe that when the person who consents to the search enjoys a possessory interest that the defendant does not share in the premises searched and also enjoys apparent joint or exclusive access to and control over the personal property searched, the privacy interest of the owner of the closed container or other personal property is far reduced and the authority of a third party to consent to a search may be established. (See United States v. Falcon, supra, 766 F.2d at p. 1474; United States v. Miroff supra, 606 F.2d at pp. 778-779; see also People v. McPeters, supra, 2 Cal.4th at p. 1172, 9 Cal.Rptr.2d 834, 832 P.2d 146 [defendant retained no expectation of privacy when he rid himself of a crime weapon by giving it to the occupant of the premises searched].) It can hardly be the case, for example, that the police would be unreasonable in acceding to the request of the sole occupant of a home to search luggage under the occupant's control but belonging to another in order to exonerate the occupant or protect him or her from hazard. (See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Latshaw (1978) 481 Pa. 298, 392 A.2d 1301, 1306-1307 [owner of barn, who suspected that containers found therein belonging to another contained contraband, was authorized to consent to a police search of the containers].) The high court has made clear that one basis for the consent exception to the warrant requirement is to serve the community's interest in producing `necessary evidence for the solution and prosecution of crime, evidence that may insure that a wholly innocent person is not wrongly charged with a criminal offense.' ( Florida v. Jimeno, supra, 500 U.S. at p. 252, 111 S.Ct. 1801.) Accordingly, although the searching officer had little reason to suppose that Diane Jenkins herself was using defendant's briefcase, this circumstance does not require us to conclude the officer lacked a reasonable basis for believing she had authority to consent to a search of the briefcase, when the facts known to him indicated she had exercised control over the briefcase in the manner shown by the testimony at the hearing on the motion to suppress. Defendant asserts that it is never reasonable for a police officer to conclude that a third party has authority to consent to a search when the personal property searched is identified as belonging to another person, but this claim is without merit. Although a third party who is the subject of a search and admonishes an officer that a bag belongs to someone else may be understood to deny joint access and control over the property (see United States v. Jaras (5th Cir.1996) 86 F.3d 383, 389), or to limit the scope of his or her consent (see United States v. Infante-Ruiz, supra, 13 F.3d at pp. 504-505), a third party who responds to a search focused upon the defendant by handing over the defendant's belongings that are in the third party's exclusive possession and control may create a reasonable belief on the part of the searching officer that the third party has authority to consent to the search. ( United States v. Falcon, supra, 766 F.2d at p. 1474 [rejecting the claim that it necessarily is unreasonable to search property identified as belonging to another]; United States v. Carter (4th Cir. 1977) 569 F.2d 801, 804-805 [same]; United States v. Buckles (8th Cir.1974) 495 F.2d 1377, 1382 [same]; Johnson v. State, supra, 519 So.2d at p. 714 [same].) We conclude the trial court properly denied the motion to suppress and that no violation of the Fourth Amendment occurred. [12]