This is a very tricky decision. In past, some courts have ruled that minors can authorize a search of their parents’ home. Likewise, if an adult has “apparent authority” over the place based on what facts are known to the officers on the scene.
In practice, I fear this will turn into a situation where police will be met at the door by two people who refuse them authority to search. So they arrest one of them, and suggest they will arrest the other, unless they agree to the search.
Likewise, people will be coerced by police. “Am I under arrest?”
“That depends if you consent to a search or not. If you don’t, we will detain you until we get a warrant to search, but it might take a few hours. But if you let us in now, we should be done in a few minutes.”
Consider the situation of roommates. Four people live together and share control over the home.
Three of them invite the cops in, the fourth objects. Should that objection automatically have veto power over the other three?
There seems to me to be a kneejerk reaction on the part of many freepers that almost any Court decision is a violation of constitutional rights. 4A does not however, prohibit all warrantless search, only “unreasonable” warrantless search.
The Court has decided, reasonably IMO, that if a person with legal right to do so authorizes the cops to enter, they can do so without a warrant. I would hope this would be applied as meaning someone with legal authority over the residence, not a child or guest.