Under California v. Greenwood, is obtaining evidence from garbage left for collection outside the grounds of a house an unreasonable search?

Under California v. Greenwood, is obtaining evidence from garbage left for collection outside the grounds of a house an unreasonable search?

• A. Not an unreasonable search
• B. An unreasonable search
• C. It depends
• D. Only if items are in a bag

Answer: (A)

The key idea is that privacy expectations in discarded items are limited. In California v. Greenwood, the Supreme Court held that garbage left at the curb for collection outside the home is not protected by the Fourth Amendment. Because the trash is abandoned and exposed to the public, the person no longer has a reasonable expectation of privacy in those items. Therefore, police can obtain or seize that garbage without a warrant, and doing so is not considered an unreasonable search. The fact that items might be bagged does not change this; bagged or not, curbside trash isn’t protected by privacy.

The key idea is that privacy expectations in discarded items are limited. In California v. Greenwood, the Supreme Court held that garbage left at the curb for collection outside the home is not protected by the Fourth Amendment. Because the trash is abandoned and exposed to the public, the person no longer has a reasonable expectation of privacy in those items. Therefore, police can obtain or seize that garbage without a warrant, and doing so is not considered an unreasonable search. The fact that items might be bagged does not change this; bagged or not, curbside trash isn’t protected by privacy.