When you have items that you personally own and they are on your private property, you do have some element of an expectation of privacy. This is why the police can’t just come into your home and look around without first getting your consent or a search warrant. They need to show that there’s a reason for that search, and they can’t violate your rights by simply looking through your private possessions to try to find an excuse to arrest you.
But does this expectation of privacy extend to something like your trash or your garbage? Are the police allowed to look through items that you’ve thrown away in order to try to find evidence?
Once it leaves your property
First of all, if this trash or garbage is on your property and isn’t in plain view, then you still have the expectation of privacy. Maybe you have a trashcan in your garage, for example. The police can’t enter your garage to look through it just because you’ve thrown away those items.
However, once the items leave your property, then the police have free reign to do as they wish. If you drop the trash off at the local dump, they can certainly search through it. But even if you just roll your trash can out to the curb so that the truck can pick it up in the morning, that’s enough to give the police the right to look through it or collect your trash themselves so that they can examine it for evidence.
It is important for the police to gather evidence the correct way. If you think they may have violated your rights and you’re facing criminal charges, be sure you understand your defense options.
