Q: Can a minor give police permission to enter a home?
14-year-old girl and resident of a home call non-emergency dispatch and advise the operator that her father and step-mother are locked in their bedroom and smoking marijuana in the house with (step-mother's) children in the home. An officer from the Sherriff's department arrives, knocks, and is able to smell the marijuana from outside of the screen door. The 14-year-old allows the officer to enter the home and directs him to the bedroom where he finds the step-mother smoking. Was it legal for the girl to give permission for the officer to enter? Would that answer change if she was NOT a resident of the home and was just visiting?
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