schneckloth

No, You May Not Search

The established test to determine whether consent was voluntary (versus involuntary and, therefore, acquiescence to police authority) is for the court to consider the “totality of the circumstances.” Analyzing the actions of the accused from the reasonable person standard, the trial courts are to look at three factors to determine whether the consent to search was voluntary: (1) the time and place of the encounter, (2) the number of officers present, and (3) the officers’ words and actions; a court analyzes these factors from the perspective of a reasonable person, untrained in the law, deciding whether he or she is free to end the encounter.[