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MT: Leaving something in trash can in place defendant visited as a guest was abandonment

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Placing something in a trash can inside a place where the defendant had guest standing before he left was evidence of his abandonment. State v. Shelton, 2008 MT 282, 2008 Mont. LEXIS 432 (August 12, 2008): [*P16] Generally, one has little or no expectation of privacy in garbage, especially if it is deemed to have been abandoned. See e.g. LaFave, Search and Seizure: A Treatise on the Fourth Amendment vol. 1, § 2.6(c), 689-702. Had Shelton left the marijuana seed and residue in his own garbage can inside his own apartment, he might have a stronger case. See e.g. 1993 Chevrolet Pickup, P 12 (suggesting that garbage inside one's home would enjoy greater privacy protection than that left outside on the curb, exposed to the public). Shelton, however, discarded the bag in a garbage can in his friend's apartment...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on August 14, 2008 (boomark / email).