Also known as: guests · social guest · business guest
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A person invited onto or staying in the premises of another under circumstances that create legal rights or duties for the host. The status turns on the nature of the invitation and the relationship to the premises.
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George Garcia stays overnight at his cousin's apartment. Police enter without a warrant and search the living room while George is asleep. George moves to suppress the evidence obtained. Because he is an overnight guest, he possesses a reasonable expectation of privacy in the home and may challenge the search.
Gareth Glover checks into a hotel for a three-night stay. While walking to his room, he slips on a wet floor near the elevator that the staff had not marked. Gareth sues the hotel for his injuries. The innkeeper owes Gareth a duty to protect him against unreasonable risks of physical harm.
Judge Gideon Graves attends a private dinner hosted by a recently convicted racketeer. Several other guests at the event have documented ties to organized crime. A disciplinary complaint is filed. The judge's presence with these guests creates an appearance of impropriety that undermines public confidence in the judiciary.
Gary Goldman visits his neighbor for an afternoon barbecue. While inside the home, he notices documents on a table that later become relevant to a civil dispute. The neighbor later claims Gary had no right to be in the living room. Gary's status as an invited social guest supports his presence in the common areas of the home.
Giana Greco, a federal officeholder, appears as a featured guest at a state party fundraiser. Organizers ask her to solicit soft money during the event. Her guest status permits attendance and speaking but limits her ability to make certain solicitations under federal election rules.
Gregory Gates attends a religious service at a private home as an invited guest. Local officials later attempt to restrict the gathering under a land-use regulation. Gates's presence as a guest supports the claim that the regulation burdens the free exercise rights of the hosts and attendees.
An overnight guest generally has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the home and may challenge a search of the premises under the Fourth Amendment.
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An innkeeper owes a duty to protect guests against unreasonable risk of physical harm and to provide first aid after learning of illness or injury.
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A judge who attends a social event hosted by a recently convicted racketeer and attended by guests connected to organized crime violates the appearance-of-impropriety standard even without proof of actual bias.
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…534-535; Meyer v. Nebraska , 262 U. S. 390, 399-400. Cf. Shapiro v. Thompson , 394 U. S. 618, 629-630; United States v. Guest , 383 U. S. 745, 757-758; Carrington v. Rash , 380 U. S. 89, 96; Aptheker v. Secretary of State , 378 U. S. 500, 505; Kent v. Dulles , 357 U. S. 116, 127; Bolling v. Sharpe ,…