MBE Rules · Criminal Procedure
4A standing
The rule
Only a person whose own 4A rights are violated may move to suppress. Defendant must have a personal REoP in the place searched or item seized. Mere passengers in cars (other than those with PJ over the vehicle) generally lack standing to challenge vehicle searches; overnight guests have standing in host's home (Olson).
In plain English
You can only challenge a search or seizure if it violated your personal privacy rights, not someone else's.
Worked example
Officer A searches a car and finds stolen goods. The defendant, a passenger, can't challenge the search because he doesn't own the car or have a privacy interest in it.
Memory hook
STAND AND DELIVER: Own rights, own challenge. Only if your 4A rights are violated can you suppress evidence.
The trap
Students think: Any passenger can challenge a car search. Wrong, because only those with personal REoP can. The actual test is personal expectation of privacy.
How examiners test it
The MBE loves: passenger in a car claims search violation. Trap: assuming all passengers have standing. Remember: only if they have personal REoP, like ownership or control.
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