Final Exam Questions and Answers

Question 1: I had a question about the Part 3, Argument 2 of the exam. Larry is 17 years old and therefore a minor. Does that mean he had no legal right to consent or object to the search and that his opinion doesn’t matter and that his grandmother is the only one who has a legal right to consent or object?

Answer 1: Remember that the issue in the case is the grandmother’s right to consent to the search with Larry arguing she had no right to consent consistent with the Fourth Amendment in Argument 1 and the police arguing that her consent was valid under the Fourth Amendment in Argument 2. Larry’s age could be one part of the police argument that the grandmother’s consent is valid, but certainly not their only argument and not as open and shut an argument as you suggest.