Colbert v. Commonwealth

Opinion of the Court by

Justice GRAVES.

This case presents an issue of first impression in Kentucky: The validity of a mother’s consent to police officers’ war-rantless search of her adult son’s bedroom located in her home, as well as of his personal effects, including a closed safe, absent direct evidence she had common authority over the room.

Shortly after 1:00 a.m. on Dec. 26, 1995, Louisville police received a call concerning a domestic disturbance at Delores Colbert’s home, requesting help with her 19-year-old son, Appellant Rontez Colbert, who had become enraged and was “trashing” the…