Opinion ID: 895898
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Garbage Can Search

Text: [¶ 8] Herrick argues the search of his garbage cans violated the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I Section 8 of the North Dakota Constitution. Herrick argues the garbage cans were on his property and not set out for pickup, and thus, he still had an expectation of privacy as to the contents of these cans. [¶ 9] In State v. Rydberg, 519 N.W.2d 306, 310 (N.D.1994), we stated placing ... garbage [cans] on or against [a] public alley, where it [is] exposed to the general public, and with the express purpose of abandoning it to the trash collector ... waive[s] any privacy interest ... in the garbage. Under the North Dakota Constitution, Herrick must have a `subjective expectation of privacy in [his] garbage that society accepts as objectively reasonable' for his garbage to be protected. State v. Carriere, 545 N.W.2d 773, 775 (N.D.1996) (quoting Rydberg, 519 N.W.2d at 309). See California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35, 40-41, 108 S.Ct. 1625, 1629, 100 L.Ed.2d 30, 36-37 (1988) (warrantless searches of garbage cans set out for disposal are constitutionally valid under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution); State v. Ronngren, 361 N.W.2d 224, 228 (N.D.1985) (defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in garbage after a dog carried garbage onto a neighbor's property). [¶ 10] The record shows the cans were roughly between two and six feet from the edge of the public alley. We will not engage in measuring expectations of privacy with a ruler. It is apparent Herrick placed the cans near the alley in an area where unknown garbage collectors picked them up and where other unknown people could rummage through the cans. Moreover, it appears when Herrick placed items in the garbage cans, he considered these items as trash and intended them to be picked up by the garbage collectors. Under Rydberg, Herrick's expectation of privacy is not objectively reasonable and he waived any expectation of privacy he had in the garbage.