Q: Hi. I was wondering what the laws were when it comes to being in a motel room.
Can the cops get permission to search a motel room from somebody that's in the motel room if it's not the owner of the motel room or not the person whose name is on the room?
A: Hotel management can authorize entry into any of the rooms on premises. Call your lawyer
A: In general a hotel overnight guest has an expectation of privacy in the room that he has rented and the hotel staff cannot consent to a search of said room by the police. If there are two people in the hotel room and one consents to the search and another does not consent then you may have a legal challenge to the search. If there is only one occupant of the hotel room at the time the police request consent and consent is given then it would be difficult to argue that the person did not have apparent authority to grant a search. I'd need to know more specific information about the case to advise you more clearly. For example, how long had the person who granted consent been in the room?
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