Appeals court allows drug evidence seized from BC dorm room

Under the college's "Conditions of Residency" policy, the court said, the officers had the right to enter the students' room and make a "plain view search" for prohibited items after hearing a report that the defendants possessed a knife. (The police allegedly found two knives and a replica gun.)

The court pointed out that the specially commissioned police officers were entering the room, not to investigate a crime, but to address a violation of Boston College policy for their employer, the college. Because of that, the court said, the entry was lawful.

The court also said that the officers did not go too far when they asked the students to sign a consent form for a further search of the room that allegedly uncovered the drugs.

"The defendants were college students whose age and level of education equipped them to understand what was being asked of them and that they had an option to refuse. They were not unusually susceptible or impressionable," the court said in five-page ruling written by Justice Joseph Grasso.

"Indeed, the very fact that the police sought the defendants' written consent to search demonstrates that the police were not claiming the right to search further, but seeking permission to do so. A person of average intelligence would necessarily comprehend that refusal was an option," the ruling said.