The Minnesota Supreme Court decided this week that the privacy protections of the Fourth Amendment do not extend to your outdoor garbage can. "It is not reasonable to expect the contents of garbage bags placed on the side of a public street for collection to remain private," wrote Justice Wilhelmina Wright in the majority opinion (PDF).
Dissenting Justice David Lillehaug disagreed: "One who examines garbage carefully can learn about the household members’ physical and mental health, sexual activities, financial status, consumer preferences, political affiliations, and personal relationships." Lillehaug argued that because modern life does not permit private garbage disposal on one's own land, Minnesotans should have a reasonable expectation of privacy until their garbage ends up in the anonymity of the dump.
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