United States v. Biswell
Facts
The Gun Control Act of 1968 authorized entry during business hours onto the premises and storage areas of licensed firearms dealers to inspect required records and firearms or ammunition kept there. Respondent operated a pawn shop and held a federal license to deal in sporting weapons. A city policeman and a federal Treasury agent inspected his books and then requested entry into a locked gun storeroom; after being told that the statute authorized the inspection and being shown the provision, respondent unlocked the room. The agent found and seized two sawed-off rifles that respondent was not licensed to possess, and respondent was later convicted of dealing in firearms without having paid the required special occupational tax.
Issue
Whether the Fourth Amendment barred a warrantless inspection of a federally licensed firearms dealer's locked storeroom when the inspection was specifically authorized by 18 U.S.C. § 923(g). Whether respondent's acquiescence mattered to the search's validity under Bumper v. North Carolina.
Rule
In the context of a regulatory inspection system of business premises that is carefully limited in time, place, and scope, the legality of the search depends not on consent but on the authority of a valid statute. Where regulatory inspections further an urgent federal interest and the possibilities of abuse and the threat to privacy are limited, a specifically authorized warrantless inspection of a pervasively regulated business may be reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
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If Nora objects that the inspector needs a warrant before entering the storage closet, which result is most consistent with the governing rule?