E.D.Cal.: A civil detainee has no REP in his cell, despite not being a convict

A civil commitment detainee has more rights than a convict in a jail, but still practically none in his living area from a search for alleged contraband. Warrior v. Santiago, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22742 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 12, 2018).

Assuming the officer conducted a search by opening the rear passenger door, his plain view was the same as if the passenger had rolled down the window as he initially requested. That’s inevitable discovery. “Nor is there reason to doubt that, upon request, Alvarado would have handed Campbell the bottle through the window, as she did through the open door. The court thus finds that, had Campbell never opened the door, he inevitably would have seen the bottle, gained possession of it, read its label, and discovered that it was a prescription belonging to someone other than the occupants of the car. The evidence found in Campbell’s subsequent search is therefore not tainted by his opening of the door.” United States v. Aranda, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22679 (M.D. Tenn. Feb. 12, 2018).*