Byrd v. United States

Byrd v. United States
Argued January 9, 2018
Decided May 14, 2018
Full case nameTerrence Byrd, Petitioner v. United States
Docket no.16-1371
Citations584 U.S. 395 (more)
138 S. Ct. 1518; 200 L. Ed. 2d 805
Case history
PriorAffirmed, United States v. Byrd, 679 F. App'x 146 (3d Cir. 2017)
Cert. granted, 138 S. Ct. 54 (2017).
SubsequentAffirmed, United States v. Byrd (3d Cir. 2018).
Questions presented
A police officer may not conduct a suspicionless and warrantless search of a car if the driver has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the car-i.e., an expectation of privacy that society accepts as reasonable. Does a driver have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a rental car when he has the renter's permission to drive the car but is not listed as an authorized driver on the rental agreement?
Holding
Drivers of rental cars have rights protecting them from unconstitutional searches by police, even if the drivers are not listed on the rental agreement.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Anthony Kennedy · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito · Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan · Neil Gorsuch
Case opinions
MajorityKennedy, joined by unanimous
ConcurrenceThomas, joined by Gorsuch
ConcurrenceAlito

Byrd v. United States, 584 U.S. 395 (2018), was a United States Supreme Court case that held that drivers of rental cars have rights protecting them from unconstitutional searches by police, even if the drivers are not listed on the rental agreement.