Part I covered the initial background on consensual searches in Pennsylvania and Bucks County. Part II covers additional issues.
Other issues: The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution covers searches and seizures. A person who is intoxicated or under drugs can not rely on that impairment alone as a defense that the search was not consensual. A stop of a motor vehicle or an arrest of a driver for a traffic offense does not automatically permit a warrantless search of a vehicle. There must be more evidence or reasons to search (see Commonwealth v. Parker from 1993).
Despite all of these issues, consent to search can be obtained by lying or trickery (see Commonwealth v. Carelli or Commonwealth v. Morrison). Morrison is a wild case. The officer in Morrison posed as a homeowner who was acting like he needed ideas for remodeling a barn and asked if he could see the defendant's barn. In the barn was where the defendant was storing marijuana. The defendant gave permission and after observing the barn, the officer got a search warrant.
Frequently, police will threaten an individual that "we will have to get a warrant" if a person refuses to consent to a search. In these cases, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has refused to create a bright-line test that such consent is per-se involuntary (see Commonwealth v. Mack of 2002).
For situations that involve "third party consent", There are privacy issues to be raised in these instances. The Pennsylvania Superior Court outlined an "apparent authority" exception. Essentially, if a person answers the door to a home, allows the police to come in, and when they allow the police to search, it is not a suppression issue if the police made a mistake in assuming the person had authority to consent to the search.
A person who is a joint owner of a car or home does not necessarily have authority to grant a search. The person must also have control over the area or the property.
Criminal law if fascinating and there are a whole host of other issues, some very peculiar, involved in consensual searches. What you need to make sure of is that you have your Bucks County criminal defense lawyer file a Motion to Suppress in the Bucks County courts and shift the burden to the Commonwealth in that hearing to defeat the motion to suppress. The Commonwealth will have to show that the consent was voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently given.