Opinion of the Court by Chief Justice MINTON.
We granted discretionary review to consider in light of controlling precedent, such as the recent United States Supreme Court's decision in Georgia v. Randolph,1 the holding of the Court of Appeals affirming the trial court's denial of Michael Shawn Payton's motion to suppress evidence. Payton contends that the trial court should have granted his motion to suppress evidence of illegal drugs seized from the master bedroom of his marital residence because neither he nor his wife validly consented to a search of their entire residence. Although Kentucky courts must follow the rule in Randolph that an occupant's voluntary consent to a warrantless premises search is ineffective to bind the co-occupant who is physically present and who objects to the search,2 we conclude that Randolph does not affect the ruling in Payton's case because (1) he did not clearly object to the search of the marital residence and (2) his wife consented to a search of the marital home without restrictions. So we affirm the Court of Appeals.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY.
The parties disagree about whether Payton or his wife, Sharon (also called Lee Ann), validly consented to a search of their home, but the other underlying facts appear to be largely undisputed and are set forth in the Court of Appeals opinion in the following manner:
On August 25, 2005, the Cabinet for Families and Children received an anonymous telephone call at their Hardin County office alleging methamphetamine existed and was being produced in the Grayson County home of Sharon and Shawn [Payton], where two children resided. The Grayson County Cabinet for Health and Family Services received the referral from the Hardin County office and the case was assigned to Rebecca Secora. Secora then contacted Deputy Blanton of the Grayson County Sheriffs Department, and requested that he accompany her to the residence.
On August 26, 2005, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Secora, Deputy Blanton, and another deputy went to the residence. At that time, the children were in school. When they arrived, Secora and the officers approached the front door and knocked. Sharon opened the door and observed Secora and the two deputies. Secora identified herself and stated that she had received information that there were drugs and children in the home.
The precise wording used by Deputy Blanton during his initial contact with Sharon is disputed. Secora ... testified[3] that he [Blanton] asked Sharon "was it all right if he looked around?" At another point in the suppression hearing, Secora stated that she and the officers requested "just to come in." Deputy Blanton testified that he initially asked if he could look around but that he also informed her that the police "would like to search" the residence. It is not disputed that, in response, Sharon threw her hands in the air, opened the door, and said, "Come on in."
Upon entering the house, there were no illegal drugs or contraband in plain view. Deputy Blanton then proceeded to the master bedroom where he found Shawn and Jody Mercer, an acquaintance. Shawn immediately asked Deputy Blanton for a search warrant and Deputy Blanton told him that Sharon consented to the search of the residence. Shawn responded "Fine" or "Well, okay."
... Deputy Blanton lifted the mattress from the Payton's [sic] bed and found a foil containing methamphetamine and two straws with methamphetamine residue.[4] After finding the drugs, Deputy Blanton performed a patdown search for weapons. In Mercer's sock, he found a syringe and, in his pocket, burnt foil. Deputy Blanton then continued his search of the residence and under a couch cushion in the living room he found a plastic box containing seven tablets of oxycontin and two hydrocodone pills. Mercer told the officers that the methamphetamine and pills belonged to him. Shawn, in the spirit of cooperation, then directed the officers to his personal "stash" of marijuana.[5]
Payton filed a pretrial motion to suppress. The trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing on that motion, at which Secora and Deputy Blanton testified. The trial court denied the motion to suppress. In its order denying the motion to suppress, the trial court found that Payton's wife had consented to Deputy Blanton's searching the marital home without restriction. The trial court also found that in response to being asked where his search warrant was, "[Deputy] Blanton responded that he did not need a warrant since [Sharon] had granted consent to search the residence" and that "Payton then said Well, okay.'" The trial court also concluded that "When Michael [Payton] asked Blanton if he had a search warrant and was advised Lee Ann [Sharon] had waive[d] the requirement by giving her consent, Michael [Payton] indicated his consent and waiver as well by saying, `Well, okay.'"
After the trial court denied the suppression motion, Payton entered a conditional guilty plea to the charges of first-degree, first-offense possession of a controlled substance (Methamphetamine); second-degree possession of a controlled substance (Hydrocodone); Possession of Drug Paraphernalia; and Possession of Marijuana. The trial court then entered a judgment convicting Payton of these offenses and sentencing him to a total of five years' imprisonment.
A majority of the Court of Appeals panel affirmed the trial court judgment.
II. ANALYSIS.
A. In Reviewing Decisions on Motions to Suppress Evidence, We Review Factual Findings for Clear Error and Questions of Application of the Law to the Facts De Novo.
As noted by the Court of Appeals majority opinion, we must apply differing standards of review to a trial court's factual findings versus its legal conclusions when reviewing a trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress. A more deferential standard of review applies to the trial court's factual findings than to its legal conclusions:
An appellate court's standard of review of the trial court's decision on a motion to suppress requires that we first determine whether the trial court's findings of fact are supported by substantial evidence. If they are, then they are conclusive. Based on those findings of fact, we must then conduct a de novo review of the trial court's application of the law to those facts to determine whether its decision is correct as a matter of law.[6]
Applying these standards to this case, we conclude that the Court of Appeals correctly affirmed the trial court's ruling on the motion to dismiss. We address the factual and legal issues regarding Sharon's interaction with the authorities before addressing issues regarding Payton's interaction with the authorities because this analysis fits the chronology and context. Sharon interacted first with the authorities, and her interaction affected Payton's later interaction with the authorities.
B. Court of Appeals Properly Upheld Trial Court's Determination that Sharon Consented to Search of House.
Before addressing the legal validity and effect of any consent given by Sharon, we first consider whether the trial court's factual findings concerning her interaction with the authorities are supported by substantial evidence and whether correct application of legal precedent to the facts supports a conclusion that she consented to the search.
In considering the purely factual issues, we note that there is no dispute that Sharon threw up her arms and said "come on in" in response to Secora and the officers' knock at the door and Secora's explaining to Sharon her (Secora's) purpose in being there. The only dispute concerns whether Deputy Blanton told Sharon he wanted to search the residence before Sharon said "come on in." Despite this dispute, Deputy Blanton's testimony that he told Sharon he would like to search is substantial evidence supporting the trial court's factual finding that Deputy Blanton requested Sharon's consent to search before Sharon said "come on in."
Because the trial court's factual findings on this issue are supported by substantial evidence, we next address whether the lower courts properly applied the law in determining that these factual findings support a conclusion that she consented to the search. And we conclude that the lower courts did properly apply the law. Precedent demands that courts consider whether a person consented to a search from the objective perspective of a reasonable officer, not from the subjective perception of the person searched.7 And in light of case law on similar facts, we believe that an officer could reasonably believe that a suspect communicated consent to search by simply stating "come on in" in response to a request to enter and search, if that person did not expressly object to a search.8 We are satisfied that the Court of Appeals properly recognized that even though "come on in" might normally connote permission to enter without necessarily granting permission to search, stating "come on in" in response to a request to enter and search without explicitly denying or restricting consent to search could reasonably be interpreted by the officer as offering permission to search. Because (1) the trial court's factual findings are supported by substantial evidence and (2) we find no error in the trial court's determination that Sharon consented to the search, even reviewing the application of law to the facts under a de novo standard, the Court of Appeals properly accepted the trial court's determination that Sharon consented to the search.9
C. Court of Appeals Properly Upheld the Validity of Sharon's Consent as Voluntary.
Payton argues that even if Sharon actually or apparently consented to a search of the residence, her consent was not legally valid because it was coerced "by a show of authority and threat to custody of her children" and, thus, involuntary. We note that he does not indicate if or how he presented this specific issue to the trial court, but we will address the issue. We discern no reversible error in the trial court's not finding Sharon's consent to be involuntary, so we will not disturb the Court of Appeals' affirmation of the denial of the motion to suppress on this basis.
As Payton notes, United States Supreme Court precedent requires courts to consider the totality of the circumstances in determining whether consent is truly voluntary or coerced through obvious or subtle means, including whether police questions were subtly coercive and whether the consenting person was in a "possibly vulnerable subjective state."10 Payton argues that "[t]here is nothing subtle in a situation involving police and child protective services workers showing up at your door, accusing you of having drugs in the home, and suggesting a threat to your continued custody of your children." He asserts that Sharon was "intimidated" and also intoxicated, citing Deputy Blanton's testimony that Sharon was "tore up" on drugs at the time.
Courts must determine voluntariness of consent based upon "an objective evaluation of police conduct and not by the defendant's subjective perception of reality."11 While Sharon was apparently somewhat intoxicated and may have subjectively felt intimidated under the circumstances,12 Payton fails to point to any evidence that Secora or the officers made any threats or promises or misrepresentations to induce Sharon's consent.13 To be precise, Secora stated the purpose of her visit was to investigate allegations of drugs in a home occupied by children; and Blanton, according to his testimony, simply stated that he would like to look around and to search. The visit took place during the middle of the day (as opposed to middle of the night14) when the children were at school. Payton has not claimed that weapons were drawn15 or that Sharon was incorrectly advised of the existence of a warrant.16 Although Deputy Blanton acknowledged that Sharon was apparently under the influence of drugs at the time, he also testified that she was not so intoxicated as to not know what she was doing.17 And although the fact that Sharon was apparently not advised of her right to refuse consent to search, this is only one factor to be considered and is not in and of itself dispositive.18 All in all, from our review of the evidence and relevant legal authority, we discern no error in the trial court's concluding that Sharon's consent was voluntary under the totality of the circumstances.19
D. Because Payton Did Not Clearly Refuse or Revoke Consent, He is Not Entitled to Relief under Georgia v. Randolph.
Even if Sharon did voluntarily consent to a search of the entire residence, Payton contends that the motion to suppress should have been granted. He cites federal case law holding that implied consent by a party with an inferior interest in the residence is not effective where the suspect is present and refuses consent.20 But we are unaware of any evidence that Sharon's interest in the marital residence was inferior to Payton's interest. In fact, the trial court held that Sharon had a superior interest because it found that Sharon was not intoxicated to the same degree as Payton.21 Although the lower courts do not appear to have definitively stated whether Sharon's consent was express or implied, her statement "come on in" in response to the officer's reported request to look around and search could be construed as an express consent to search. And the facts do not establish that Payton clearly revoked his wife's consent or objected to the search.
Payton argues that he effectively refused or revoked consent to search by asking police "where's your warrant?" and that any apparent consent he gave by saying "fine" or "well, okay" was rendered invalid because it was offered in response to a "false claim" that Sharon consented. We first note that Payton's argument is based upon a flawed premise because we have already determined that the lower courts did not err by finding that Sharon did consent. The question then becomes whether Payton's asking "where's your warrant" but taking no other definitive action to withdraw Sharon's consent somehow means that Sharon's consent should not apply to him.
Payton cites Georgia v. Randolph for the proposition that a co-tenant's consent to search does not apply to a physically present co-tenant who refuses to consent. While Georgia v. Randolph is indisputably binding authority on our state courts, it nonetheless does not entitle Payton to relief under these facts.
We note that the trial court did not explicitly state in its conclusions of law whether Payton validly consented to the search; instead, it concluded that Sharon validly consented to the search and suggested that any concerns about the validity of any consent given by Payton were immaterial:
It is clear that Lee Ann [Sharon] had apparent authority over the premises to authorize the search by oral consent. From the testimony at the hearing, she exhibited superior authority over Defendant Michael Payton. When Michael asked Blanton if he had a search warrant and was advised Lee Ann [Sharon] had waive[d] the requirement by giving her consent, Michael indicated his consent and waiver as well by saying, `Well, [okay].' Michael Payton had diminished his mental capacity by getting `tore up.' The officer was reasonable in relying on the belief that Lee Ann as an equal co-occupant/owner tenant of the residence who was in apparent control of her faculties had authority over the premises. Lee Ann gave valid consent to the search of that household, including the bedroom and its contents.
The trial court implicitly found that Payton did not refuse or revoke consent in finding that he "indicated his consent." The Court of Appeals explicitly rejected Payton's argument that he revoked the consent given by his wife and objected to the search, noting that it reviewed all his actions in context rather than solely focusing on Payton's initially questioning whether the officers had a warrant:
Whether Shawn's initial questioning of the officers as to whether they had a search warrant prior to continuing their search was tantamount to him refusing consent to the search is not the factual situation before our Court. We cannot take Shawn's initial actions out of context. When the officers entered the room occupied by Shawn, the right of the officer's presence was challenged by Shawn's questioning the officers as to a search warrant. The response of Deputy Blanton explained their presence, i.e., that Sharon had given them consent to search the residence. Of paramount importance was Shawn's response of "Fine," or "Well, okay" to Deputy Blanton's explanation. Such response is certainly consistent with both Shawn's acknowledgement and approval of the consent given by Sharon as well as satisfying his initial inquiry into the officer's presence in the residence. While Shawn's response may rise to the level of actual consent, it is enough that we decide that Shawn's actions did not rise to the level of an objection. See [Randolph]. Thus, Shawn neither revoked the consent given by Sharon nor objected to the search of the residence. Therefore, under the facts found by the trial court, we agree that the search of the residence passes constitutional scrutiny.
We agree with the Court of Appeals that viewing the totality of Payton's actions along with other relevant circumstances, the trial court did not err in denying the motion to suppress because Payton did not clearly revoke Sharon's consent or object to the search.22 Although this Court recognizes the rule expressed in Randolph, the lack of clear revocation of consent or objection to search in this case supports the trial court's denial of the motion to suppress.
Examining Randolph carefully, we note that the majority opinion seemingly limits its determination that another occupant's consent to search a premises is ineffective against a physically present occupant who expressly objects to the search to "the circumstances here at issue"23 and takes note that the defendant there clearly refused consent to search.24 Randolph is factually distinguishable from the case at hand because it appears undisputed that the defendant in Randolph "unequivocally refused" consent to search25 before his estranged wife gave her consent to search.
In contrast, Payton cannot be said to have "unequivocally refused" consent by his asking "where's your warrant" and then saying "fine" or "well, okay" after being told his wife had already consented to a search. And although the exact time frame is not necessarily dispositive, we also note that Payton's alleged refusal occurred after his wife apparently gave consent, whereas Randolph objected to a search even before his estranged wife gave consent to search.26 Furthermore, to the extent that the question "where's your warrant" could be construed as an objection to a search, any such objection was quickly retracted when Payton told police "well, okay" or words to that effect when told that a warrant was not needed because his wife had already given consent. While other cases may recognize that asking "where's your warrant" may amount to refusing consent under certain circumstances,27 we are unaware of any cases recognizing a refusal to consent through asking "where's your warrant" where such a question was quickly followed by words and behavior indicating assent — for example, the defendant simply stating "fine" or "well, okay" when presented with an officer's reasonable representation that a co-inhabitant had given consent to search, and the defendant then actively directing the police to contraband, as occurred here.
E. Any Consent Given or Retained by Payton Was Not Invalidated By Officer's Statement that Warrant Not Needed due to Wife's Consent.
Not only do the facts indicate that Payton did not revoke consent or object to the search, but the facts do not demonstrate that his apparent consent (saying "fine" or "well, okay") was invalidly given in reliance on a "false claim" of his wife's consent. As explained previously, a reasonable officer could have objectively construed Payton's wife's speech and behavior as indicating her voluntary consent to search. Nor do we accept Payton's contention that the officer falsely informed him he had no right to refuse consent. There is no evidence that the officer told Payton he had no right to refuse consent. Actually, the evidence was that the officer told Payton that he did not need a warrant because of Payton's wife having already given consent and said nothing about whether Payton had a right to refuse consent. The officer did not misrepresent the law in telling Payton no warrant was needed because of Sharon's consent. Consent is a valid exception to the rule against warrantless searches, and the officers had no duty to advise Payton of his right to refuse consent.28
Because the trial court properly determined that Sharon validly consented to a search of the residence and because Payton did not clearly revoke consent or object to a search, we agree with the Court of Appeals that the trial court properly denied the motion to suppress.
III. CONCLUSION.
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the Court of Appeals decision upholding the trial court's denial of the motion to suppress.
All sitting. MINTON, C.J.; ABRAMSON, CUNNINGHAM, NOBLE, SCOTT, and VENTERS, JJ., concur. SCHRODER, J., concurs, in part, and dissents, in part, by separate opinion.
SCHRODER, J., concurring, in part, and dissenting, in part:
I concur with the majority in all but one area — the search of the bedroom. When Payton asked for the search warrant and was told that Sharon had already consented to the search, the officer's response created the false impression (even though no bad faith was alleged) that Payton could not revoke any prior consent, contrary to Georgia v. Randolph. Thus, I believe that Payton's subsequent response, "fine" or "well okay," could not be construed as consent and that his asking if the officer had a search warrant effectively revoked Sharon's earlier consent.
