Court Opinion

ID: 9941046
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-02-15 19:00:44.848981+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:46:11.197722
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-30563         Document: 00517064873             Page: 1      Date Filed: 02/15/2024

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                      ____________
                                                                                United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                         Fifth Circuit

                                       No. 23-30563                                    FILED
                                     Summary Calendar                           February 15, 2024
                                     ____________                                 Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                                       Clerk
   United States of America,

                                                                       Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                             versus

   John S. Lee,

                                               Defendant—Appellant.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Western District of Louisiana
                               USDC No. 3:22-CR-120-1
                      ______________________________

   Before Jolly, Higginson, and Duncan, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          John Lee conditionally pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to
   possess with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and
   to one count of possession of firearms by a convicted felon, in violation of 18
   U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), reserving his right to contest the denial of his motion to
   suppress evidence. He challenges the district court’s denial of his motion to

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-30563         Document: 00517064873        Page: 2   Date Filed: 02/15/2024

                                     No. 23-30563

   suppress evidence uncovered from a trash container as part of a “trash pull”
   at his residence.
          For the denial of a suppression motion, we review factual findings for
   clear error and the constitutionality of law enforcement action de novo.
   United States v. Robinson, 741 F.3d 588, 594 (5th Cir. 2014). The evidence is
   viewed in the light most favorable to the prevailing party. United States v.
   Alvarez, 40 F.4th 339, 344 (5th Cir. 2022).
          Lee argues that the district court erred by denying his motion to
   suppress because he manifested a subjective expectation of privacy in his
   trash container that was objectively reasonable. In California v. Greenwood,
   486 U.S. 35, 37 (1988), the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment
   does not prohibit “the warrantless search and seizure of garbage left for
   collection outside the curtilage of a home.” Because Lee placed his trash
   container “in an area particularly suited for public inspection and, in a
   manner of speaking, public consumption, for the express purpose of having
   strangers take it,” Lee could have “no reasonable expectation of privacy in
   the inculpatory items” that were discarded, whether located within the
   curtilage of his home or not. Id. at 40-41 (internal quotation marks and
   citation omitted). There is no error in the district court’s ruling.
          AFFIRMED.

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