CA1: It was def’s burden to show guest standing and he failed

Defendant put on no proof of how long he was in another’s hotel room to claim standing in the room. The district court inferred, without much support, that he slept there for some brief period of time, and that’s not error, but the extent of his reasonable expectation of privacy was unexplored in the district court and defendant put on no proof of it. The proof showed he had no belongings there other than the shoes he was putting on when the police came to the door. Therefore, he had no standing. United States v. Aiken, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 25490 (1st Cir. Dec. 18, 2017):

Aiken was not registered as a guest in the hotel room and he did not have any possessions in the room besides the sneakers he was trying to put on when the agents arrived and his t-shirt. There were no indicia present in the hotel room supporting Aiken’s overnight-guest status, such as an overnight bag or toiletries. Although Aiken’s bus ticket was found in the motel room, the presence of a ticket and the few articles of clothing being worn by Aiken fail to show any expectation of privacy. Further, while Bonnett had a key to the room on his person, Aiken did not have a key to the motel room. If he had exited, he would have been unable to return, unless Bonnett allowed him to do so. Aiken may have been able to open and close the door, but it is unclear if he could do this without Bonnett’s permission. See United States v. Gomez, 770 F.2d 251, 254 (1st Cir. 1985) (“Thus, there was no evidence that appellant had possession or control of the premises. Nor did [he] provide evidence of his ability to exclude others from use of the property.”). It was Aiken’s burden to demonstrate otherwise.

While Aiken provided no evidence as to his expectation of privacy, the government presented evidence showing Aiken distancing himself from the room, explaining to his mother that the room was not his and he was just visiting. See United States v. Zapata, 18 F.3d 971, 978 (1st Cir. 1994) (“[O]ne who disclaims ownership is likely to be found to have abandoned ownership.”).