Rakas v. Illinois
Argued October 3, 1978
Decided December 5, 1978
Full case namePeople v. Rakas, 46 Ill. App. 3d 569, 4 Ill. Dec. 877, 360 N.E.2d 1252 (App. 3d Dist. 1977), Court OpinionRakas et. al v. Illinois
Citations439 U.S. 128 (more)
99 S. Ct. 421; 58 L. Ed. 2d 387
Case history
PriorPeople v. Rakas, 46 Ill. App. 3d 569, 4 Ill. Dec. 877, 360 N.E.2d 1252 (App. 3d Dist. 1977)
Holding
Expectation of privacy in area subject to search or seizure required to challenge legality of the 4th amendment invasion.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart
Byron White · Thurgood Marshall
Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr.
William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens
Case opinions
MajorityRehnquist, joined by Burger, Stewart, Blackmun, Powell
ConcurrencePowell, joined by Burger
DissentWhite, joined by Brennan, Marshall, Stevens

Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128 (1978), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court, in which the Court held that the "legitimately on the property" requirement of Jones v. United States, for challenging the legality of a police search, was too broad. The majority opinion by then-Associate Justice Rehnquist held that a defendant needs to show a "legitimate" expectation of privacy in the place searched in order to be eligible to challenge the search. For example, an overnight guest in a friend's apartment has such "standing".

In the case at issue, the Court ruled that vehicular passengers in a car they did not own had no such legitimate expectation.

Subsequent History

In Rawlings v. Kentucky (1980), the Court ruled that the test enunciated in Rakas—whether the petitioner had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the area searched—is the exclusive test for determining whether a defendant has standing to challenge a search.


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