E.D.Tenn.: Father could give consent for search of adult daughter’s room for evidence of boyfriend’s drugs

Defendant lived with a woman named Price at her dad’s house. The police tailed him there, arrested him for drugs, and then got permission of the dad to search the room. They asked the dad if he ever needed permission to enter the room, and he said no, so they asked him for consent. [No analysis of the relationships.] United States v. Page, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 161531 (E.D. Tenn. October 22, 2012):

To be sure, if the search of the bedroom was an incident to defendant’s arrest, it may have gone too far. But it was not an incident to defendant’s arrest. Drug Task Force Director McQueen asked permission of the owner, Mr. Price, to search the house. Additionally, he asked Price if he (Price) had to obtain permission of his daughter or defendant to enter the daughter’s bedroom. Price stated that he never asked permission, and he freely entered the bedroom when and as he wished, never asking permission of his daughter or defendant to do so. Mr. Price gave his consent to search. Based upon the representations Mr. Price made about his perceived authority over all areas of that house and Price’s consent, the officers searched Nikea Price’s bedroom, finding considerable evidence of drug trafficking therein.