Suspect Bad Benny is staying at the fabulous Motel 6 in Tewksbury. At about 11:00 every morning, the motel housekeeper cleans Benny’s room. Benny knows this, as when he comes back to his room in the afternoon, his bed has been made and the (thin, scratchy) towels have been changed.
One day, some narcotics officers ask the housekeeper to look through Benny’s room, specifically in his suitcase and in the drawers of the dresser and the nightstand. The officers never enter Benny’s room; in fact, they don’t even go on to the motel’s premises. The housekeeper finds 32.5 grams of heroin after opening Benny’s closed suitcase and gives it to the agents. Benny is arrested and charged with trafficking heroin.
Benny’s attorney files a motion to suppress the evidence, claiming that the heroin was found as the result of an unreasonable search and seizure.
What should the judge do? Why?
