U.S. v. Walton

In prosecution on drug distribution charge, Dist. Ct. erred in denying defendant-parolee’s motion to suppress drugs seized from rental vehicle in which defendant was passenger at time of traffic stop, where Dist. Ct. improperly found that defendant lacked standing to file instant suppression motion. Although defendant was parolee, who was not supposed to be in Illinois at time of traffic stop pursuant to terms of his parole, he still had some cognizable privacy interests in contents of rental vehicle, where he was sole authorized driver of said vehicle, so as to give him standing to file instant suppression motion. Fact that defendant had violated terms of his parole, or that he might not have had valid driver’s license at time of traffic stop did not support govt. claim that defendant did not otherwise have subjective or objective expectation of privacy in rental vehicle. Accordingly, remand was required for Dist. Ct. to determine merits of suppression motion.