CHARLES MCGIBIANY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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McGibiany appeals his conviction for possession of cocaine and marijuana, challenging the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained from a warrantless search of his hotel room. The court reverses, holding that an off-duty police officer accompanying a hotel manager exceeded constitutional limits when he entered and searched the guest's room without a warrant or probable cause.
The warrantless search violated the Fourth Amendment and Florida Constitution. Although the manager may have had authority to enter the room and the officer could lawfully stand in the doorway observing what was visible, the officer's entry into the room and search exceeded constitutional limits because nothing observed from the doorway provided probable cause to believe a felony or drug possession was occurring.
[1] A warrantless search of a hotel room by a law enforcement officer, even when accompanying a hotel manager investigating a suspected irregularity, violates the Fourth Amen…
[2] A hotel manager's right to enter a guest's room for legitimate purposes does not extend to waiving the guest's constitutional rights against unreasonable warrantless sear…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a motel manager has no power by consent or invitation to waive a guest's Fourth Amendment rights of privacy against unreasonable warrantless searches”
Establishes that a hotel manager cannot authorize a law enforcement officer to search a guest's room, even if the manager has authority to enter
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMcGibiany checked into a hotel room with a companion. A maid reported the room as occupied but irregularly assigned due to a clerical error. The assis…
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Robert P. SMITH, Jr., Judge.
McGibiany appeals from a judgment of conviction for possession of cocaine and marijuana, complaining of the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress as evidence the contraband taken from his hotel room by an off-duty policeman accompanying the hotel’s assistant manager. The warrantless search violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 12 of the Florida Constitution, and we therefore reverse.
McGibiany and his companion checked into the Tallahassee Hilton and were assigned room 715, a single room, until a double room should become available later in the day. They unpacked in room 715 and departed. Later, a maid reported the room occupied but not properly assigned to a guest — that irregularity being due to the room clerk’s failure to record the authorized temporary use of room 715. The assistant manager, suspecting a fraudulent occupancy, decided to investigate and asked Sgt. Dozier to accompany her for protection. The manager unlocked and opened the door to room 715, found no one apparently in the room, and entered to investigate the identity of the absent occupant. Sgt. Dozier followed. Across the room Sgt. Dozier found drug paraphernalia and from the dresser top he took a vial of white powder, which he previously saw from the doorway but gave no significance, that proved to be cocaine.
The State does not dispute that Sgt. Dozier was acting as a law enforcement officer, though off-duty and employed by the hotel as a security guard, at the time of this search. See State v. Williams, 297 So. 2d 52 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974). In Sheff v. State, 301 So. 2d 13 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974), aff’d, 329 So. 2d 270 (Fla.1976), we held that a motel manager has no power by consent or invitation to waive a guest’s Fourth Amendment rights of privacy against unreasonable warrantless searches. Because a law enforcement officer accompanied the manager and participated in the search, all constitutional restrictions on warrantless, searches apply. M. J. v. State, 399 So. 2d 996 (Fla. 1st DCA), and cases cited.
Sheff controls this case. While it may be assumed that the manager had a right to enter room 715 for the purposes indicated, and that Sgt. Dozier had a right to stand in the doorway, viewing all that could be observed, until it was evident that no occupant threatened harm to the manager, Sgt. Dozier’s lawful power ended at the threshold. Nothing he saw from the doorway gave Sgt. Dozier probable cause to believe a felony had been or was being committed, or that the room contained illegal drugs. His entry and search of the room were unreasonable by constitutional standards.
The judgment of conviction is REVERSED.
SMITH, L., and JOANOS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
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Morse v. State, 604 So. 2d 496 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)…and in order to spray for infestations. Inviting the police to enter and search the apartment is another matter altogether.” Id. at 405; see Sheff v. State, 301 So. 2d 13, 16 (Fla. 1st DCA1974), aff'd, 329 So. 2d 270 (Fla.1976); McGibiany v. State, 399 So. 2d 125 (Fla. 1st DCA1981) (even if assistant motel manager had right to enter room to investigate suspected fraudulent occupancy, constitutional limits on unreasonable warrantless search applied to an accompanying off-duty policeman, requiring reversal of…
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Green v. State, 824 So. 2d 311 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002)…not been asked to leave.”); Gnann v. State, 662 So. 2d 406, 407 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995) (“A motel room is considered a private dwelling if the occupant is there legally, has paid or arranged to pay, and has not been asked to leave.”); McGibiany v. State, 399 So. 2d 125, 126 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981); Sheff v. State, 301 So. 2d 13, 16 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974) (“A hotel room or a motel room is the private dwelling of the occupant so long as he is legally there, paying the requisite rent or charge, or has made appropriate arran…
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Wassmer v. State, 565 So. 2d 856 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)…e floor as well. We conclude that Dekin’s opening the door to Wassmer’s room violated her fourth amendment privacy rights. A motel manager has no power by consent or invitation to waive a guest’s fourth amendment privacy rights. McGibiany v. State, 399 So. 2d 125 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981); Sheff v. State, 301 So. 2d 13 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974), aff'd, 329 So. 2d 270 (Fla.1976). Nor does a motel security guard have the power to do so by forcing open the door of a guest who refuses to open it. In McGibiany, an assistant…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Sheff v. State, 329 So. 2d 270 (Fla. 1976)
- Sheff v. State, 301 So. 2d 13 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974)
- M. J. v. State, 399 So. 2d 996 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)
- State v. Williams, 297 So. 2d 52 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974)