Prof. Rory Little Comments on Civil Rights of Hotel Residents

In an article published today in the New York Times, UC Hastings Professor Rory Little weighs in on the federal scrutiny S.R.O. operators and police have come under recently. Eight San Francisco police officers were implicated in alleged misconduct for entering and searching rooms without a warrant or consent.

According to the article, "S.R.O. Hotel Managers Question Their Obligations to the Police," police in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood regularly use information provided by S.R.O. hotels to conduct narcotics investigations. Earlier this month, Public Defender Jeff Adachi '85 released surveillance videos that he said proved that the police had systematically violated hotel residents' civil rights.

Little said that police have the right to enter someone's room without consent or a warrant only if there are "exigent" or pressing circumstances. "When someone pays rent on a hotel room, it becomes their little house," said Little, a former prosecutor. "People have a right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure in their houses."

Read the full article, as produced by the Bay Citizen, at nytimes.com.