The Constitution's Fourth Amendment provides that "no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." U.S. Const. amend. IV. A "state search warrant being challenged in a federal court must be judged by federal constitutional standards." United States v. McManus , 719 F.2d 1395, 1397 (6th Cir. 1983) (citing Elkins v. United States , 364 U.S. 206, 80 S.Ct. 1437, 4 L.Ed.2d 1669 (1960) ). "Probable cause is defined as ‘reasonable grounds for belief, supported by less than prima facie proof but more than mere suspicion.’ " United States v. King , 227 F.3d 732, 739 (6th Cir. 2000) (quoting United States v. Bennett , 905 F.2d 931, 934 (6th Cir. 1990) ). In assessing whether a warrant to search a residence passes muster under the Fourth Amendment, the "critical element ... is ... that there is reasonable cause to believe that the specific ‘things' to be searched for and seized are located on the property to which entry is sought." Zurcher v. Stanford Daily , 436 U.S. 547, 556, 98 S.Ct. 1970, 56 L.Ed.2d 525 (1978).

It is well established in this Circuit that drug paraphernalia recovered from a trash pull establishes probable cause to search a home when combined with other evidence of the resident's involvement in drug crimes.

The Court held that the marijuana roaches and T2-laced plastic bags Detective Particelli recovered from the trash pull here were insufficient, standing alone, to create probable cause to search Defendant's residence.

Read full case here: United States v. Abernathy, 843 F.3d 243 (6th Cir. 2016), https://casetext.com/case/united-stat...


Case about trash:
California v. Greenwood, 486 US 35 (1988)
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1987/86-684
   • Can police go through your garbage le...  

Anton Vialtsin, Esq.
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