Does a Dirty Trash Pull Provide Probable Cause to Search a Residence?

The Supreme Court of the United States has held that trash left for collection at the curb is not subject to a reasonable expectation of privacy and therefore may be searched by the police without a warrant. See California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35 (1988). So-called “trash pulls” are now a routine feature of drug investigations. When officers find drugs, drug residue, drug paraphernalia, or other indicia of drug activity in the trash, does that provide probable cause to support the issuance of a search warrant for the associated residence? North Carolina’s appellate courts have decided a number of cases involving trash pulls. In most instances, a dirty trash pull was just one part of a larger array of incriminating evidence. For example, in State v. Sinapi, 359 N.C. 394 (2005), officers retrieved a “garbage bag containing eight wilting marijuana plants” from the suspect’s trash, but the suspect also had several prior drug arrests and had been named as the seller of heroin used in a recent overdose death. Likewise, in State v. Lowe, 369 N.C. 360 (2016), police found “a small amount of marijuana residue in a fast food bag” in the defendant’s trash, but the suspect also had numerous prior drug arrests and was the subject of an anonymous tip alleging that he was selling drugs. In both cases, the Supreme Court of North Carolina found that probable cause existed. In State v. Teague, 259 N.C. App. 904 (2018), the court of appeals considered a case that began with [...]