California v. Greenwood

California v. Greenwood
Argued January 11, 1988
Decided May 16, 1988
Full case nameCalifornia v. Billy Greenwood and Dyanne Van Houten
Citations486 U.S. 35 (more)
108 S. Ct. 1625; 100 L. Ed. 2d 30; 56 U.S.L.W. 4409
Case history
PriorDrug charges against defendants dismissed by California Superior Court (unpublished). Affirmed, California Court of Appeal, 182 Cal.App.3d 729 (1986). Cert. granted, 483 U.S. 1019 (1987).
Holding
The Fourth Amendment does not prohibit the warrantless search and seizure of waste left for collection outside the curtilage of a home. California Court of Appeal reversed.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White
Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
Case opinions
MajorityWhite, joined by Rehnquist, Blackmun, Stevens, O'Connor, Scalia
DissentBrennan, joined by Marshall
Kennedy took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amends. IV, XIV; Cal. Const., Art. I, § 28(d)

California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35 (1988), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Fourth Amendment does not prohibit the warrantless search and seizure of garbage left for collection outside the curtilage of a home.[1]

This case has been widely cited as "trashing"[2][3] the Fourth Amendment with critics stating "the decision fails to recognize any reasonable expectation of privacy in the telling items Americans throw away" and that those who wish to preserve the privacy of their trash must now "resort to other, more expensive, self-help measures such as an investment in a trash compactor or a paper shredder."

  1. ^ "FindLaw's United States Supreme Court case and opinions". Findlaw. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "California v. (Verus) Greenwood: Did the United States Supreme Court Trash the Fourth Amendment? | Office of Justice Programs". www.ojp.gov. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  3. ^ "California v. Greenwood: A Trashing of the Fourth Amendment".