Opinion ID: 443197
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Consent to Inspection

Text: 10 Consent effective to validate a warrantless search may be given by a person other than the victim of the search. See Frazier v. Cupp, 394 U.S. 731, 89 S.Ct. 1420, 22 L.Ed.2d 684 (1969); United States v. Harrison, 679 F.2d 942 (D.C.Cir.1982). The Supreme Court in United States v. Matlock, 415 U.S. 164, 94 S.Ct. 988, 39 L.Ed.2d 242 (1974), confirmed that proof of voluntary consent is not limited to proof that consent was given by the victim but may be established by showing that permission to search was obtained from a third party who possessed common authority over or other sufficient relationship to the premises or effects sought to be inspected. Id. at 171, 94 S.Ct. at 993. Common authority, however, is not to be implied from a third party's mere property interest, 3 but rests rather on mutual use of the property by persons generally having access or control for most purposes, so that it is reasonable to recognize that any of the coinhabitants 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. Id. at 171 n. 7, 98 S.Ct. at 1820 n. 7. The touchstone of Matlock's third party consent analysis is that any reasonable expectation of privacy in common areas is lost once joint occupants assume the risk that a co-occupant will allow access to the common areas. 4 See United States v. Hendrix, 595 F.2d 883, 885 (D.C.Cir.1979); United States v. Block, 590 F.2d 535, 539 n. 5 (4th Cir.1978); United States v. Sumlin, 567 F.2d 684, 687-88 (6th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 932, 98 S.Ct. 1507, 55 L.Ed.2d 529 (1978). Thus in applying these third party consent principles to the facts of the present case, our inquiry focuses upon determining Beiro's reasonable expectations of privacy. Cf. United States v. Lyons, 706 F.2d 321 (D.C.Cir.1983) (analysis begins by determining Lyons' legitimate expectations of privacy). We are required to uphold the ALJ's factual findings if supported by substantial evidence. See Whirlpool Corp. v. OSHRC, 645 F.2d 1096, 1101 (D.C.Cir.1981) (court required to accept Commission's finding of fact if it is supported by such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept to support a conclusion); 29 U.S.C. Sec. 660(a) (Commission's findings of fact conclusive if supported by substantial evidence on the record). 11 The site in question was a large, multi-employer construction site covering a four square block area owned by the District of Columbia. The District entered contracts with a number of prime contractors to work on the project, one of which was Beiro. The Fuller-Griffin Company, one of the prime contractors, was retained as the construction superintendent for the project. In this capacity, Fuller-Griffin was to coordinate and keep on schedule the various other prime contractors. In addition, Mr. Gordon, the Project Manager for the D.C. Government, represented the District at the site. 12 The perimeter of the site was enclosed by a chain link fence but no interior fences separated the various worksites. Each of the contractors tended to occupy a discrete area; however, there was considerable overlap, with workers from the various companies simultaneously working throughout the site. 13 On March 2, 1981, Mr. Tupper, an OSHA compliance officer, advised Mr. Pope, the Project Manager for Fuller-Griffin, of OSHA's intended inspection. Mr. Pope arranged a meeting between Mr. Tupper and all of the site contractors. All of the contractors agreed to cooperate with the inspection except Beiro. Beiro's General Superintendent for the worksite, Mr. Martin, and its Safety Director, Mr. Braswell, objected to the inspection without a warrant and physically blocked Mr. Tupper from leaving to inspect the other contractors' worksites. Mr. Tupper considered this a denial of entry and left. Subsequently, OSHA sought and obtained consent for the inspection from Mr. Gordon, Project Manager for the D.C. Government at the construction site. Mr. Tupper and two other compliance officers returned to the site the following day and began conducting the inspection. 14 Although not challenging the D.C. Government's general authority to give consent to the inspection, Beiro does challenge Mr. Gordon's authority to give consent on behalf of the D.C. Government. Beiro argues that Article 15 of its contract defines its rights of privacy in relation to the D.C. Government. See Brief for Beiro at 53. Article 15 of the contract gives Beiro the right to refuse entry to any person whose admission is not specifically authorized in writing by the contracting officer. The contracting officer for the District was a Mr. Harvey, not Mr. Gordon. The contract, however, defines contracting officer as including that official's authorized representative. See Brief for the Secretary at 24 n. 29. It is undisputed that Mr. Gordon was the contracting officer's representative at the construction site. 5 See Reply Brief for Beiro at 19; Appendix, Vol. II at 43. Beiro, nonetheless, argues that Mr. Gordon acknowledged his lack of authority to consent when he attempted to consult the contracting officer and when unable to reach him consulted the D.C. Corporation Counsel. See Reply Brief for Beiro at 19. The validity of Mr. Gordon's consent as a matter of fourth amendment jurisprudence is governed by the third party consent principles of Matlock and not by the literal provisions of Beiro's contract. 6 The contract provisions are relevant only to the extent they bear upon Beiro's legitimate expectations of privacy. 15 On the basis of the facts presented, both the other contractors at the site and the District had access to and mutual use of the common areas of the construction site. Beiro cannot claim a reasonable expectation of privacy against these parties. Beiro assumed the risk that one of them might permit the common area to be inspected and in fact all cooperated with the inspection. Beiro's arguments regarding the legitimacy of the method by which the District consented are unpersuasive. It is undisputed that the District had the authority to consent and that it did in fact consent. Whether Mr. Gordon was properly authorized to give consent is a question of fact. The ALJ found that consent was obtained from appropriate and authorized representatives of the D.C. Government. See ALJ Decision at 43. Beiro has presented no basis for us to overturn this finding. OSHA obtained proper, effective third party consent to inspect the common areas of the construction site. 16 The Secretary further contends that Beiro, itself, impliedly consented to the inspection by failing to renew its objection on March 3 when the OSHA compliance officers returned to the site, after receiving the District's consent to inspect. Brief for Secretary at 20. Beiro asserts that it continued to object to the validity of the inspection but was presented with a fait accompli --three compliance officers claiming to have proper authority to conduct an inspection--thus, Beiro acquiesced. 7 Reply Brief for Beiro at 10. The ALJ found that Beiro cooperated with the compliance officers and at no time refused access to any part of the site. 8 ALJ Decision at 29. The ALJ suggests that Beiro most probably waived any expectation of privacy it may have had in its change shed and tool trailer by failing to object to entry. 9 17 Beiro's acquiescence under the circumstances of this case, regardless of its exact nature, was not alone sufficient to constitute consent. To preserve its fourth amendment rights, Beiro is not required, after initially objecting to and physically preventing the inspection, to continue to resist when subsequently confronted by OSHA officials claiming valid authority to proceed with the inspection. The government must show by a preponderance of the evidence that consent to search was freely and voluntarily given. See Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973). Whether consent is freely and voluntarily given is a question of fact to be determined from the totality of circumstances. Id. at 227, 93 S.Ct. at 2047. [I]f under all the circumstances it has appeared that the consent was not given voluntarily--that it was coerced by threats or force, or granted only in submission to a claim of lawful authority --then we have found the consent invalid and the search unreasonable. Id. at 233, 93 S.Ct. at 2050 (emphasis added) (citing Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543, 88 S.Ct. 1788, 20 L.Ed.2d 797 (1968); Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 68 S.Ct. 367, 92 L.Ed. 436 (1948); Amos v. United States, 255 U.S. 313, 41 S.Ct. 266, 65 L.Ed. 654 (1921)). See also United States v. Vasquez, 638 F.2d 507, 524 (2d Cir.1980) ([I]f the individual has merely acquiesced in a show of authority, he should not be found to have consented.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 975, 102 S.Ct. 528, 70 L.Ed.2d 396 (1981); United States v. Sanchez, 635 F.2d 47 (2d Cir.1980) (same). 18 The Supreme Court has cautioned that to approve consent searches without the most careful scrutiny would sanction the possibility of official coercion. Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 229, 93 S.Ct. at 2048. Upon careful scrutiny of the circumstances of the present case, we are unable to find that Beiro freely and voluntarily consented. The OSHA compliance officers claimed authority to inspect on the basis of consent received from the D.C. Government. Beiro merely acquiesced to their apparent lawful authority to conduct the inspection, believing it had no other choice. We also note some credence in Beiro's assertion that the Secretary has engaged in a whipsaw strategy: resistance or noncooperativeness during an inspection results in severer penalties but nonresistance or cooperativeness implies consent. See Reply Brief for Beiro at 12-14.