Commonwealth v. Cleckley

OPINION

CAPPY, Justice.

Appellant contends that a consensual search should be deemed valid under Article I, Section 8 of Pennsylvania Constitution only where it can be shown that the person subject to the search knew that he or she had the right to refuse such consent. For the reasons that follow, we disagree and, accordingly, affirm the decision of the Superior Court.

On December 23, 1995, Officer John Deluca of the Borough of Koppel Police Department went to Phil’s Inn with an arrest warrant for one Andrew Pounds. Upon being arrested, Pounds informed the officer that appellant, who was inside…