Gonzala V. Alcala Case Brief

In Sunnyvale, California Officer James Rand around 2:40 in the morning had pulled over a vehicle due to there being a headlight and license plate light out. He discovered there were six men in the vehicle the three in the front includes: Joe Alcala, Robert Bustamonte, the driver Joe Gonzales and three older men in the back seat. When the Officer Rand asked for Gonzales’s license whom did not have his license on him. Alcala was the only one of the six that could produce a driver’s license, after that Alcala told the officer that the vehicle was not his it was his brother. The Officer asked for them to step out of the car when backup arrived he asked Alcala if he could search the vehicle. Alcala had given him permission to and as told by Gonzales, Alcala had helped Officer Rand through the search and opened the trunk to only find that there were three checks waded up under the rear left seat, that was stolen from a car wash. …show more content…
The holding when subject for a search is not in custody and the Officers attempts to do a search. The requirement of the Fourth Amendment that it demonstrate the consent given was in fact voluntary and not coercion. While the subject knows, they have the right to refuse is a factor to be known. The prosecution does not have to provide such knowledge to establish a consent