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No waiver of expectation of privacy in lost wallet; third search of wallet was unreasonable

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Search of lost wallet for cr4minal evidence after having already obtained defendant's name and address from it was unreasonble. The defendant did not waive an expectation of privacy in his wallet by losing it. Wolf v. State, 2008 Ga. App. LEXIS 670 (June 12, 2008): 1. The trial court reasoned that, because Wolf lost his wallet, he lost all expectation of privacy therein. This reasoning is erroneous. Wolf's wallet was lost, not abandoned. Although "it is settled law that one has no standing to complain of a search or seizure of property he has voluntarily abandoned," the question of whether a defendant has abandoned an item of personal property hinges upon his intent, that is, "whether the person prejudiced by the search had voluntarily discarded, left behind, or otherwise relinquished his interest in the property in question so that he could no longer retain a reasonable expectation of privacy with regard to it at the time of the search...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on June 15, 2008 (boomark / email).