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California v. Greenwood. Hannah Walker Political Science Mr. Noel November 26, 2013. Basics-. Greenwood suspected of trafficking narcotics Searched and arrested twice Said that is was against 4 th amendment rights for them to search his garbage on the street. The big question…
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California v. Greenwood Hannah Walker Political Science Mr. Noel November 26, 2013
Basics- • Greenwood suspected of trafficking narcotics • Searched and arrested twice • Said that is was against 4th amendment rights for them to search his garbage on the street. • The big question… • “Whether a person has a subjective expectation of privacy in their garbage that society accepts as objectively reasonable?”
Who saw the case? • Municipal Court, South Orange County Judicial District • Superior Court • Refused by the California Supreme Court • United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court Justices 1988 Thurgood Marshall Sandra Day O’Conner William J. Brennan Jr. Byron White Harry A. Blackmun William H. Rehnquist Antonin Scalia John Paul Stevens
Opinion of the Court- White • The defendants assumed privacy for their trash • “expectation of privacy does not give rise to 4th amendment protection” • Left it to the ‘third party’ (trash collector) who could do with it as he pleased • “police cannot reasonably be expected to avert their eyes from evidence of criminal activity
Dissention- Brennan/Marshall • Makes reference to the legality of going through someone’s mail; that they are “fully guarded from examination and inspection” • As long as it is ‘closed against inspection’ that 4th amendment protects its contents • “It cannot be doubted that a sealed trash bag harbors telling evidence of the ‘intimate activity associated with the ‘sanctity of a man’s home and the privacies of life.”
Cont. • Provide confidence that only the officials of town to “rummage into, pick up collect, move or otherwise interfere with articles or materials” • The 4th amendment “protects privacy…not solitude” • “The American society with which I am familiar ‘chooses to dwell in reasonable security and freedom from surveillance’”
Ruling • The verdict was 6-2 • The 9th Justice Anthony Kennedy did not take part in the case • After the case was seen in two lower courts the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state • Reversing the ruling of the lower courts • And defined their opinion of the 4th amendment to the United States Constitution
Bibliograhy • Bloomberg Law. "California v. Greenwood | Casebriefs." Casebriefs. 2013. Accessed November 18, 2013. http://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/criminal-procedure/criminal-procedure-keyted-to-weinreb/the-fourth-amendment-arrest-and-search-and-seizure/california-v-greenwood-2/. • Brennan, William J., Jr. "California v. Greenwood." California v. Greenwood. January 11, 1988. Accessed November 18, 2013. http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0486_0035_ZD.html. • "California v. Greenwood, Briefs, Joint Appendix." California v. Greenwood, Briefs, Joint Appendix. Accessed November 18, 2013. http://www.soc.umn.edu/~samaha/cases/california_v_greenwood_appdx.html. • Committee of the Judiciary. "United States Supreme Court Justices." United States Supreme Court Justices. Accessed November 18, 2013. http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/nominations/SupremeCourt/SupremeCourtJustices.cfm. • The United States of America. The Bill of Rights. By George Mason. 1791. Accessed November 18, 2013. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/fourth_amendment. • White, Byron R. "California v. Greenwood." California v. Greenwood. January 11, 1988. Accessed November 18, 2013. http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0486_0035_ZO.html.
Pictures Cited • http://d75822.medialib.glogster.com/media/d0/d01ba62e6b112fb172b483eb8bfafb146a4ea5cbae23acceabc3fbf7279d76ad/cpr0041.gif • http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_mHCAWDirEHQ/TCuPg9Med5I/AAAAAAAACJU/_Gb0_RIkv5w/s1600/thurgood-marshall-3.jpg • http://www.colorado.edu/newsservices/byronwhite/images/bwhite.jpg • http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/US_Supreme_Court_Justice_William_Brennan_-_1976_official_portrait.jpg • https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTQdAIiPzRutSkaTRFvHulrla_P51x4wOCtPOYkJe2okQf3aAR_Lg • http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/blackmun/images/blackmun-portrait.jpg • http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/John_Paul_Stevens,_SCOTUS_photo_portrait.jpg • http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/William_Rehnquist.jpg