| California v. Greenwood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued January 11, 1988 Decided May 16, 1988 | |
| Full case name | California v. Billy Greenwood and Dyanne Van Houten |
| Citations | 486 U.S. 35 (more) 108 S. Ct. 1625; 100 L. Ed. 2d 30; 56 U.S.L.W. 4409 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Drug charges against defendants dismissed by California Superior Court (unpublished).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 | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | White, joined by Rehnquist, Blackmun, Stevens, O'Connor, Scalia |
| Dissent | Brennan, 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."
- ^ "FindLaw's United States Supreme Court case and opinions". Findlaw. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "California v. Greenwood: A Trashing of the Fourth Amendment".