Discussion:
Q: Is it proper for a law enforcement officer to deliberately avoid attempting to obtain consent to search from the defendant and instead attempt to obtain consent from someone with equal authority over the defendant's premises? Does it matter whether the law enforcement officer had an opportunity to attempt to obtain consent from the defendant and deliberately failed to take it? What if the officer had deliberately prevented defendant from being physically present so as to be able to object to the search? In other words, is there a difference between deliberate avoidance and deliberate prevention in this context? What if the defendant was deliberately avoiding the police?