US v. Derrick Daniels, Jr., No. 19-4812 (4th Cir. 2022)

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Justia Opinion Summary

Defendant challenged the admissibility of a handgun found in a rental car he had been driving that was parked outside of his hotel. Finding that Defendant had abandoned any legitimate expectation of privacy in the Charger, that Enterprise had given valid third-party consent to the search, and that the Government would have inevitably discovered the gun in the Charger, the district court denied Defendant’s motion to suppress.
 
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment. The court explained that in suppression hearings, criminal defendants have the burden of putting forward evidence to support all elements of their reasonable expectation of privacy. Here, Defendant did not introduce any evidence to support his lawful possession of the Charger.

Primary Holding

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment denying Defendant’s motion to suppress based on the admissibility of a handgun found in a rental car he had been driving. The court held that lacked a legitimate expectation of privacy in the car because he introduced no evidence that he was in lawful possession of the car.


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