Court Opinion

ID: 9779849
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 00:51:32.770946+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:33:43.192622
License: Public Domain

Gants, J.
(concurring). I agree with the court that, because a warrantless entry into a home constitutes a search in the constitutional sense, “there is no reason in this case to draw a distinction between searches and entries of homes” (emphasis added). Ante at 394. I write separately to clarify that there is a distinction between a search of a home and entry into a home, which, although it does not affect the outcome of this case, may have bearing on the validity of consent in other search cases.
An entry into a home is more limited in scope than the search of a home. An entry is limited to the area of the home entered, which generally is an area to which all the inhabitants of the home have a shared right of access, such as a foyer, living room, or kitchen, and to objects that may be observed in plain view from the area entered. The scope of the entry does not generally include bedrooms or objects concealed from view. In contrast, a search of a home generally includes all areas of the home and all objects within the home, whether in plain view or concealed from view.
The cornerstone of the consent analysis is whether an individual has a shared right of access to the area being searched. See Commonwealth v. Porter P., 456 Mass. 254, 264-265 (2010). An individual lacking a shared right of access to an entire home may nonetheless have sufficient shared access to permit entry into a foyer, living room, or kitchen. See 4 W.R. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 8.5(e), at 235 & n.117 (4th ed. 2004), and cases cited (guest who is more than casual visitor and has “run of the house” may have limited authority to allow police to enter area where visitors are normally received). The Commonwealth’s claim of apparent authority fails here because the police officer did not know whether the unidentified woman who consented to his entry had a shared right of access to the room he entered. *400But that does not suggest that the diligent inquiry required for apparent authority is identical for consent to enter an area with a shared right of access as for consent to search an entire home.