Not Successful

When we use the phrase "reasonable expectations of privacy", it's a clear indication that we are talking about Fourth Amendment. This is the Fourth Amendment, which protects you from unreasonable searches and seizures. The government must either obtain a warrant for the search or prove that an exception to the warrant requirement exists. There are a number of exceptions. Cf. Majority Rejects "Mullet doctrine" In Fourth Amendment Case (July 13th, 2018). The exceptions are not the main issue. It's not the exceptions that are important here, but rather when a defendant is allowed to raise the Fourth Amendment.

This is only true if there was a "reasonable expectations of privacy" by the defendant in relation to the object that was searched. If your pants were searched, for example, then the Fourth Amendment would probably apply (unless you are on parole, in which case searches will be conducted at all times). It's unlikely if it was someone else’s pants. People v. Burns, 196 Cal. App. 3d 1440 (1987). Just FYI, the same goes for the garbage bag you put out at the curb. California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35 (1988).

Of course, you have a right to privacy in your home. The Supreme Court also ruled that guests may have a right to privacy when visiting their host. Minnesota v. Olson 495 U.S.91 (1990). The Court stated in Olson that "Staying over night in someone else's house is a long-standing social custom which serves valuable functions in society." It is reasonable to expect privacy even though the guest does not have any legal authority on the premises.

But murdering your host is an arguably a violation of this long-standing social custom. Does the murder mean the guest no longer has the right to privacy?

Yes, it is. Yes, it is.

Tennessee v. Guy was recently decided by Tennessee’s Court of Criminal Appeals. Although I have linked to the opinion, it is strongly recommended that you do not read it because the facts are horrifying. How horrifying? I'm not in favor of the death penalty, because it is clear that innocents will be executed by mistake if there were to be one. After reading these facts, I quit my position and registered a 501 (c)(3) corporation named "Please Kill Mr. Guy, Inc." and launched a massive campaign to make mandatory executions before I realized I didn't support death penalty because of that other good reason. I asked for my old job back. If he did, I don't know who would be the lucky one to get the top bunk. This is how bad it really is. Please do not read the opinion. (I'm being serious.)

You only need to know that he murdered his parents in order to get their life insurance and that the search at their home violated his Fourth Amendment right.

The defendant is the son of one of the victims. However, that doesn't establish a reasonable expectation. He never lived in the house and was living 600 miles away at the time. He also claimed that he was entitled to protection as a guest. The evidence showed that he had been a guest, at least initially. The state claimed that his privileged status ended when he killed the hosts. And the court agreed. The court ruled that the defendant, by killing his hosts and attacking them with the false claim that he had been an overnight guest at their residence, no longer had the reasonable expectation of privacy that society would accept as reasonable when the officers entered the residence. They had not revoked the permission but he did not give them a chance to do so.

While I would urge you to not read the opinion, you will find that pages 9 to 13 inform you that the notebook seized by the police during the search contained extensive handwritten lists of everything the defendant planned to do in order to cover up and commit the murder of his parent (the least offensive being "get plastic sheeting to dispose of process") and a list he believed he would inherit. I think we've already discussed why compiling incriminating lists is a bad thing, but I can't seem to find anything that directly addresses the issue. But cf. Author of "How to Murder Your Wife" Convicted of Murdering Wife" (May 27, 2020); Rapper who Rapped about Committing Fraud is Arrested for fraud" (Oct. 19-2010); "Guy with Murder Scene Tattooed On His Chest Convicted In 2011" (July 24 2013). You now know that the Fourth Amendment will not protect you if you place a list of your victims in their homes.