People v. James

I respectfully dissent.

Under the majority decision a police officer desiring to search a purse which he finds in a car may choose to ask the driver for consent, even though he knows the purse belongs to a passenger. I cannot agree the rights protected by the fourth amendment can be eroded by such an unrealistic doctrine of apparent authority. See Stoner v. California (1964), 376 U.S. 483, 488, 11 L. Ed. 2d 856, 860, 84 S. Ct. 889, 892.

In People v. Bolar (1990), 205 Ill. App. 3d 597, 563 N.E.2d 1225, a driver authorized the police to search his vehicle. Before exiting the vehicle the defendant…