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HeyBub[_3_]

zzzzzzzzzz wrote:

You make a good point. No, I don't know whether the city picks
through my trash. If they did, though, it would raise some
interesting privacy concerns.

You might think so, but it's not illegal to go through someone's
trash. There is no presumption of privacy once the bag goes on a
public right-of-way. That's why they make shredders.

You would be correct if you tossed your crammed container from a moving car
in the dead of night. But maybe not otherwise.

I said "interesting" because there's some ambivalence in the courts. While
it is true the authorities can search without a warrant that which has been
abandoned, if the (municipal) government requires you to put your trash in a
can or bag and place your trash in a certain location, that's not the same
as "abandoning."

If, then, the cops can go through your stuff, their rummaging is the
equivalent of a 5th Amendment violation - you are being required to
incriminate yourself. An incriminating document in a city-mandated trash bag
is exactly the same as being in a safe in your home. The cops have to get a
warrant. Or so the 9th Circuit has ruled.

On the other hand, if the person doing the scavenging is not affiliated with
the government, say a reporter or private detective, you have a whole
'nother matter. Again, if the city requires you to surrender your wet
nasties to the city, then the reporter or private eye is STEALING from
either you or the city and is, as my Indian neighbor says, in "heap big
trouble."