The police had received information that Mr. Greenwood might be engaged in narcotics trafficking and they wanted to have a look at what he discarded. So, the Laguna Beach police asked the trash collectors to give them Greenwood's trash after they collected it but prior to mixing it with other garbage. As luck would have it, Greenwood's garbage contained evidence of narcotics use, which was the basis for a search warrant for his home where police found further evidence of narcotics trafficking and the defendant was arrested. The Court held that Greenwood's trash was not constitutionally protected since no one would reasonably expect privacy in trash. However, under Justice Harlan's view, the reverse conclusion is just as likely.
People put garbage out in covered pails or opaque bags tightly tied and concealed from public eyes.
Most people probably don't expect the police to search the bags for criminal evidence. Here, the defendant was growing marijuana in his yard, which was enclosed with a high fence. Again, the Court focused on Justice Harlan's two-prong test, and held here was no reasonable expectation of privacy. Although nice people would not snoop on a person sunbathing nude in his fenced-in yard, a not so nice person would. The strongest distinction made by the Bond Court was the difference between a physical invasion and a visual invasion of privacy.