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596 So. 2d 518

Docket No. 91-1164.

Thomas v. State

L.B. THOMAS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.

District Court of Appeal of Florida · decided 1992-04-03

Cited by 2 later decisions — most recently April 2006

2 state decisions

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“The passenger/codefendant stated that the defendant handed her the package of cocaine. When charged with possession the codefendant successfully moved to have the evidence suppressed on the ground the search was illegal but the trial court denied the defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence illegally seized from the passenger/codefendant on the ground the defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy for the package of contraband and therefore had no standing to challenge the search of the passenger/codefendant. A defendant does not have standing to suppress evidence merely because the evidence was obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment rights of a codefend-ant. (Citations omitted.)”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Hodge v. State

Relies on Wong Sun v. United States · Rakas v. Illinois · Alderman v. United States

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1992-04-03

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1James B. Gibson, Public Defender, and Kenneth Witts, Asst. Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for appellant.

¶2Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Myra J. Fried, Asst. Atty. Gen., Daytona Beach, for appellee.

¶3COWART, Judge.

¶4The police stopped a vehicle driven by the defendant. When the defendant and passenger (codefendant) exited the vehicle the officer, noticing a bulge in the passenger/codefendant's pants, searched the passenger/codefendant, discovering a package containing cocaine. The passenger/codefendant stated that the defendant handed her the package of cocaine. When charged with possession the codefendant successfully moved to have the evidence *519 suppressed on the ground the search was illegal but the trial court denied the defendant's motion to suppress the evidence illegally seized from the passenger/codefendant on the ground the defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy for the package of contraband and therefore had no standing to challenge the search of the passenger/codefendant. The defendant was convicted and appeals. We affirm.

¶5A defendant does not have standing to suppress evidence merely because the evidence was obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment rights of a codefendant. Wong Sun v. United States,371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963); Alderman v. United States,394 U.S. 165, 89 S.Ct. 961, 22 L.Ed.2d 176 (1969); Rakas v. Illinois,439 U.S. 128, 99 S.Ct. 421, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978); see also 4 LaFave, Search and Seizure, § 11.3(i) pgs. 359, 360 (1987).

¶6AFFIRMED.

¶7GOSHORN, C.J., and DIAMANTIS, J., concur.

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