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SENSITIVE Mani-ID; LHBSAP1 LEGAL HANDBOOK FOR SPECIAL AGENTS PART 1 whenever possible. However, a consent is a relinquishment of Fourth Amendment rights by the consenting party, and thus is reasonable even in the absence of probable cause and where searching Agents cannot particularly describe the materials being sought. **EFEDte: 07/26/1999 MCRT#: 915 Div: D9 Cav: SecCls: 5-4.2 Consent to Search: Prerequisites In order to establish valid consent, ents must be able to establish that the person providing consent had|actual or apparent | authority to do so and the consent was voluntary. *kEFEDte: 10/09/2001 MCRT#: 1159 Div: D9 Cav: SecCls: |5-4.3| Lawful Possession |(Formerly 5~4.2) | Agents seeking permission to search without a warrant must obtain consent from a person authorized to give it. Only a person in lawful possession may give consent. He/She is the person who currently possesses the premises or personal property. Ownership is not the equivalent of lawful possession where the owner has temporarily yielded his/her right to possess, as in the case of landlord and tenant, or innkeeper and guest. Nor is lawful presence the same as lawful possession. A guest or invitee, lawfully on premises, is generally not authorized to give up rights possessed by his/her host. Agents should make certain that consent is obtained from one in authority. Any doubts as to who possesses the premises or other property should be resolved before proceeding. Agents should carefully question any person present who might be of help in deciding who is euthorized to consent. The Supreme Court has held that a valid consent may be obtained from one with "apparent" authority over the property. This assumes that the Agents have made a good faith effort to ascertain who has actual control, and are therefore reasonable in believing that the person from whom consent was obtained had such control. *KEFEDte: 07/26/1999 MCRT#: 915 Div: D9 Cav: SecCls: |5-4.4| Joint Possession | (Formerly 5-4.3) | (1) Where two or more persons jointly possess the property, any of the individuals may consent to the search, at least as to those areas or things which are commonly possessed. A joint possessor assumes the risk of disclosure when he/she agrees to share the property with another. Places or items of personal property reserved for the exclusive use of one person may not be searched by SENSITIVE Printed: 08/20/2003 06:43:34 Page 18