D.N.J.: “Friends with benefits” relationship showed standing

Defendant with a “friends with benefits” relationship with his host still had standing during his short-term stays. Here, he was asleep in his underwear when the police entered at night. United States v. Brantley, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91340 (D. N.J. May 13, 2021):

As an initial matter, for the purposes of this Motion, this Court accepts that Defendant was more than a short-term guest at Ms. Reels’ apartment and thus had standing to challenge any subsequent warrantless search of his belongings. See Minnesota v. Olson, 495 U.S. 91, 95-97, 110 S. Ct. 1684, 109 L. Ed. 2d 85 (1990). To the extent that the Government suggests that Defendant’s “friends with benefits” relationship categorically fails to merit the protections of an “overnight guest,” this Court disagrees. (D.E. 51 at 2.) Defendant had asked Ms. Reels for somewhere to stay, arrived at a late hour, and had fallen asleep in Ms. Reels’ bed in his underwear. (See Tr. 22:25-23:1 (stating that Defendant has “stayed [at Ms. Reels’ apartment] twice”); 30:8-17; 66:4-9; D.E. 45-1.) Therefore, a reasonable expectation of privacy could be found, and this Court will move forward in assessing the propriety of the inventory search conducted by the detectives.

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