What must be shown for a defendant to have standing to challenge a search or seizure under the Fourth Amendment?

Study for the MBE Critical Pass Test. Enhance your knowledge with flashcards and multiple choice questions. Prepare thoroughly for your exam with detailed hints and explanations.

The key idea is standing: to challenge a Fourth Amendment search, you must have a legitimate privacy interest in the place searched or the item seized. This comes from the idea that the Fourth Amendment protects people, not places, and a reasonable expectation of privacy is required for that protection to apply. Ownership isn’t necessary—you can have standing if you have a privacy interest in the space or the item, even if you don’t own it (for example, someone who occupies a room or uses items in a shared space). Being the target of the search isn’t required either; you can challenge a search if you have a privacy interest in what’s searched. The presence or absence of a warrant doesn’t determine standing; a warrant affects the lawfulness of the intrusion, not whether you have the right to complain about it.