Can the police search the personal effects of non-residents during the execution of a search warrant for fixed premises?

During the execution of a search warrant for fixed premises, the police may lawfully search the personal effects of a resident of the premises subject to search where the personal effects are plausible repositories of contraband. (People v. Saam (1980) 106 Cal.App.3d 789, 794, 165 Cal.Rptr. 256.) Today we hold that, during the execution of a search warrant, the police may, under specified conditions, lawfully search the personal effects of non-residents found on the premises subject to search.

The police may ordinarily assume that all personal property which they find while executing a search warrant is the property of a resident of the premises subject to search. (State v. Nabarro (Haw.1974) 55 Haw. 583, 525 P.2d 573, 577.) Thus, the police may search any personal property of a visitor which might serve as a plausible repository of the contraband which is the object of the search where they have no knowledge of the fact that the item searched is the personal property of a visitor. (Id.) If the police have actual knowledge that the property which is searched belongs to a non-resident, however, they may not, as a general rule, rely on the authority conferred by a search warrant to conduct a warrantless search of the non-resident's

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