State of Tennessee v. Peter Allen Ross

Summary

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed Peter Allen Ross's convictions for possessing more than 0.5 grams of cocaine base with intent to sell and possessing drug paraphernalia, holding that he forfeited his otherwise legitimate expectation of privacy in his motel room by disclaiming ownership of the room key and claiming it belonged to another occupant, so the warrantless search violated neither the Fourth Amendment nor Article I, section 7 of the Tennessee Constitution. The court also held the evidence sufficient to establish constructive possession of the cocaine and paraphernalia, and that although the trial court erred in refusing to consider the Tenn. Code Ann. section 40-35-113(1) mitigating factor, the maximum in-range twelve-year sentence was nevertheless proper. Justice Birch, dissenting, would have held that a mere verbal disclaimer of ownership does not strip a citizen of Fourth Amendment rights and that the evidence seized should have been suppressed.