WY: Def’s girlfriend showed apparent authority to enter their apartment after domestic dispute; Illinois v. Rodriguez redux

Officer’s reasonably relied on defendant’s girlfriend’s apparent authority to enter his apartment. She called 911 about what she described as a domestic assault where he struck her face. When police arrived, she was outside the apartment sitting on the stairs. The first officer asked if the person who assaulted her was inside. She opened the door and let them in. This was a showing of apparent authority under Illinois v. Rodriguez. The court noted exigent circumstances wasn’t asserted by the state. Alexander v. State, 2023 WY 127, 2023 Wyo. LEXIS 129 (Dec. 28, 2023).

The citizen informant here was identified, provided sufficient detail, and didn’t need to be further corroborated. State v. Rowland, 2023-Ohio-4806 (7th Dist. Dec. 28, 2023).*

The officer’s preliminary examination testimony alone shows that the inventory here was reasonable and in accord with department policy. Therefore, there was no ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to challenge it. People v. Pokriefka, 2023 Mich. App. LEXIS 9583 (Dec. 28, 2023).*