Few people realize how much information can be obtained about every aspect of one’s life from the trash that they throw away. Credit card receipts provided a detailed accounting of how you spend your money including purchases that you might prefer to keep confidential. What every citizen should consider is that evidence pulled from your trash might be used by snooping police to put you in jail.

While the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article I Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution provide privacy protections against unreasonable search and seizures, once trash has been “abandoned” these protections may evaporate meaning that the police do not need a warrant to search your trash. Pennsylvania law poses complex legal and factual issues surrounding the police rummaging through your garbage and seizing it as evidence in a criminal case. The process of police confiscating a person’s garbage and searching through it for evidence is sometimes referred to as a “trash pull.” An experienced Pennsylvania criminal defense attorney can sometimes file a motion to suppress evidence obtained in a trash pull or any evidence subsequently discovered based on a warrant obtained solely or primarily from evidence obtained during a trash pull.

The Pennsylvania Constitution provides in pertinent part:

The people shall be secure in their persons, house, papers and possessions from unreasonable searches and seizures, and no warrant to search any place or seize any person or things shall issue without describing them as nearly as may be, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation subscribed by the affiant.

The protection provided by Article I, Section 8 extends to areas where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.

The U.S. Supreme Court in California vs. Greenswood, 486 U.S.35 (1988), upheld the warrantless search and seizure of garbage left for collection outside the defendant’s home. The reasoning of the court was that a person has no reasonable expectation in discarded trash that had been abandoned and could easily be rummaged through by passersby, nosey neighbors and stray animals. The Pennsylvania courts have also reached the conclusion that a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy in trash voluntarily abandoned in a public place. This means that if you dispose of materials that provide evidence of a criminal act, such as a baggie with drug residue, by putting it in your garbage and putting your trash cans out on the street along the curb for collection, the police can and frequently will rummage through your garbage.

Neither the Pennsylvania Constitution nor the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution permits the police to rummage through your trash without limits. The key issue is where your trash is located. The trash must be “abandoned” and placed in a public place. The determination of whether a person has “abandoned” one’s trash is a complex inquiry that turns on the specific facts of your individual case. Generally, if the trash is in your home or behind a gated area that is part of your home (legally referred to as “curtilage”), the police need a warrant supported by probable cause to search your garbage or a lawful exception to the warrant requirement. Conversely, once you roll your trashcans out into the street for collection by the trash collector, your trash is fair game for the police to search through.

The issues of whether trash is in an area that constitutes curtilage of a person’s residence and whether the evidence discovered in the trash is sufficient to justify probable cause to search your home are complex legal issues. Many times police are overzealous in searching trash prematurely or premature in seeking a search warrant for your home, which a judge may rubber stamp, without adequate evidence of probable cause. If you have been arrested or are under investigation for alleged criminal activity, an experienced Pittsburgh criminal defense lawyer will carefully analyze issues such as how the police gathered evidence against you, the basis of probable cause for any search, the legal sufficiency of any search warrant, police conduct and procedures in the execution of any search and other legal basis for suppressing evidence against you.

With a focus on thorough preparation, superior client service and dedicated representation, I help families and individuals solve a wide range of DUI and criminal litigation issues.

I will respond to your email submission as promptly as possible. I ask that you consider calling me directly at 1-412-475-9217 or toll free at 1-855-DUI-CRIM for a free initial consultation to discuss your case.  You will also find out how our practice can be put to work for you.

I look forward to listening to the circumstances of your case and discussing all available options available under the law.

Sincerely,

Michael V. Worgul

Michael V. Worgul, Esq., LLC
429 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Toll Free: 1-855-DUI-CRIM
Phone: 412-475-9217
Fax: 412-288-8943