SC: Def had no standing to contest police entry onto the porch where he was hanging out, allegedly dealing drugs

Officers watched the porch of Apartment 122 and observed five men 10:00-10:30 pm, and five cars came up and one would go to the cars and do what appeared to be a hand-to-hand transaction. Finally, the officers moved to the porch and asked for IDs. Ultimately defendant was arrested. He failed to show that he had any standing in the apartment or its porch, so he couldn’t contest the police coming there. State v. Robinson, 2014 S.C. LEXIS 492 (November 12, 2014), aff’g as modified State v. Robinson, 396 S.C. 577, 722 S.E.2d 820 (App. 2012) (The court also explicitly decides burdens of proof: The state has to justify a warrantless search, but the defendant has to show standing.)

Defense counsel wasn’t ineffective for two reasons: First, no motion to suppress was filed to get the best plea deal possible. Second, the search was consensual and legal anyway. State v. Shelton, 2014 Ga. App. LEXIS 739 (November 13, 2014).*

Defendant’s motion to suppress on involuntary consent was denied before defendant’s plea, and defense counsel filed an Anders no merit brief. The appeal was without merit because there was no conditional plea. State v. Guinn, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2730 (La.App. 3 Cir. November 5, 2014) (link unresponsive when posted).*