Opinion ID: 743107
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Analysis of the Search

Text: 5 In arguing that he had an objectively reasonable expectation of privacy in his garbage cans, Redmon claims the cans were within the curtilage of his house. He relies on our case, United States v. Hedrick, 922 F.2d 396, 399 (7th Cir.1991), which stated that garbage cans located twenty feet from the garage and approximately fifty feet from the back door of the house were technically within the curtilage of the house, in which privacy expectations are most heightened. In Hedrick, however, after analyzing California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35, 108 S.Ct. 1625, 100 L.Ed.2d 30 (1988), and various other cases, this court found no constitutional privacy under its particular facts. 922 F.2d at 399. 6 Moreover, Hedrick does not establish that Redmon's garbage cans were within the curtilage. Relying on California v. Ciraolo, 476 U.S. 207, 212, 106 S.Ct. 1809, 1812, 90 L.Ed.2d 210 (1986), the Hedrick court defined the curtilage as being an area intimately associated with the sanctity of the home and the privacy of life, both physically and psychologically, and an area where privacy expectations are most heightened. 922 F.2d at 398. The Hedrick court further noted that cases following Ciraolo recognized that the yard of a residential home is within the curtilage. Id. at 399. Thus, although the Hedrick garbage cans were located at the side of the driveway about half way between the sidewalk and the garage, the court considered them to be within the curtilage of the house. Id. However, as the government points out, in United States v. Shanks, 97 F.3d 977, 979 (7th Cir.1996), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 1002, 136 L.Ed.2d 881 (1997), this court also found that garbage cans placed next to a detached garage and only twenty feet from the residence, but also close to the alley, were outside the curtilage with no reasonable expectation of privacy. 7 The district court in the present case did not make a finding about whether or not Redmon's garbage cans were within the curtilage. However, in the present case the garbage cans were just outside the garage, but close to and visible from the public streets and the sidewalks. Thus, Redmon's garbage cans, based on the record evidence, do not appear to us to have been within the curtilage, remembering curtilage is defined as an area intimately associated with the sanctity of the house and the privacies of life. In any event, under our cases Hedrick and Shanks, a curtilage finding is not controlling. Shanks, 97 F.3d at 979; Hedrick, 922 F.2d at 400. Other factors can be of greater weight. In this case, therefore, had the district court made a finding that the garbage cans were within the curtilage it would not have altered the result. 8 The Hedrick court noted that in California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. at 40, 108 S.Ct. at 1628, the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment does not prohibit the warrantless search and seizure of garbage left for collection in an area found to be outside the curtilage of the home. 922 F.2d at 397. However, the court also noted that in Greenwood, the Supreme Court distinguished garbage cans from other containers within the curtilage of the home by noting that plastic garbage bags left on or at the side of a public street are readily accessible to animals, children, scavengers, snoops, and other members of the public. 2 Hedrick, 922 F.2d at 399 (quoting Greenwood, 486 U.S. at 40, 108 S.Ct. at 1628). Some of those predators mentioned in Greenwood, animal and human, would likely also venture from a public street up a short driveway to check appealing garbage cans in plain view. Thus, the Hedrick court explained that the proper focus under Greenwood was whether the garbage was readily accessible to the public so as to render any expectation of privacy objectively unreasonable. Id. Accordingly, the Hedrick court said no bright line rule protecting all garbage within the curtilage was possible and explained that just because the garbage cans were within the curtilage did not necessarily mean that they were constitutionally protected. Id. at 400. In determining that the defendant had no protected privacy interest in the garbage cans, the Hedrick court considered other factors in addition to curtilage including the ready accessibility of the garbage cans to the public, the short distance between the garbage cans and the sidewalk, collection by a garbage service, and particularly that the cans were clearly visible from the sidewalk. Id. 9 At first glance, the factual circumstances in this case might seem under Hedrick to tip the balance toward protected privacy. The garbage cans were placed close to the attached garage. However, there are also significant factual circumstances tipping the balance against protected privacy. Redmon's garbage cans, as we mentioned, were located on a driveway which he shared and used in common with his next-door neighbors, whoever they might be, and with their visitors and Redmon's visitors. Redmon had no control over his neighbors' invitees or others who might call on his neighbors. 10 Another significant fact is that the common driveway not only served as a driveway, but also served partly as a walk and connecting link for pedestrians to Redmon's front door walk. The front door walk provided the only access to Redmon's front door. For callers, therefore, the only route to Redmon's front door was from the public sidewalk on the north side, up the driveway to the garage and the garbage cans, and then left around the corner of Redmon's house to his front door going east. 3 Walks going to and from front door entrances, though on private property, are generally regarded as open to the public for use in connection with the house and its occupants. A person who walks up the walk to knock at someone's front door is not considered a trespasser. Rather, there is implied permission for the public to use the walk, or in this case the combination driveway-walk. In that sense Redmon's garbage cans were on or adjacent to the walk used by those calling on him or his neighbors and were readily accessible to the public. Those calling on Redmon or his neighbor necessarily passed close by the garbage cans without there being any basis for a legitimate objection by Redmon. 11 To be sure, Redmon did not expect the contents of his garbage can to become known to the police or other members of the public. That alone is not enough to give rise to Fourth Amendment protection, however, unless society is prepared to accept that expectation as objectively reasonable. Greenwood, 486 U.S. at 39-40, 108 S.Ct. at 1628-29. Our judgment is that a majority of the public is not prepared to accept Redmon's expectation as objectively reasonable. 12 In Hedrick, Judge Cudahy saw no principled basis separating Hedrick's case [with the garbage cans half way down the driveway] from one in which garbage is kept on the back porch.... 922 F.2d at 401. (Curbside was admittedly a different situation.) Consequently, Judge Cudahy strongly dissented from the majority opinion. As Judge Cudahy's dissent demonstrates, reasonable room for disagreement obviously exists in these Fourth Amendment situations, particularly because the factual situations can vary widely. Indeed, it can be seen that each case reasonably turns on its own facts, obviating the necessity of trying to create a bright line rule to be applied to a myriad of garbage can circumstances. We see no fault with that practical approach. The district court here found no objective expectation of privacy that Redmon could reasonably have had in his garbage cans. We agree. 13 As a reviewing court, under Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, ----, 116 S.Ct. 1657, 1663, 134 L.Ed.2d 911 (1996), we review the district court's Fourth Amendment probable cause determinations de novo. We review findings of historical fact only for clear error giving due weight to inferences drawn from these facts by resident judges. Id. We have done that and find that in Redmon's circumstances there was no constitutionally protected interest in the contents of Redmon's garbage cans. Redmon's own carelessness in his use of his garbage cans in trying to dispose of the evidence of his criminal conduct caused his problem. He cannot now blame the vigilant police. Thus the search warrants for Redmon's house were valid. We find no error.