Week 2 Discussion 1

Week 2 Discussion 1
The court of appeals determined that the warrantless search and seizure of a bag of shredded
documents did not violate the provisions of the fourth amendment and as such, the motion to
suppress the evidence recovered in the search and seizure could not be granted (US v Hall,
1995).
The search and seizure was not a violation of the provisions of the fourth amendment for several
reasons. Bet Air had not taken adequate steps to restrict public access to the discarded garbage.
Referring to California vs. Greenwood (1988), the court ruled that even though shredding and
dumping the papers in an enclosed garbage bag provided reasonable privacy, exposing the
garbage to the public rendered such privacy unreasonable. The court found that the expectation
of privacy in Bet-Air’s case was subjective. The actions by Bet-Air fit (Prenkert et al., 2019)
definition of abandoned property.
The result would have been different if the dumpster was on private property. However, other
conditions still would have been considered, such as the proximity of the curtilage to the main
residence or the additional steps taken to protect the area from observation by passersby or to
restrict access by the public, US v Dunn (1987). The primary basis for issuing search warrants is
whether or not the search area is open to public members.
The road that led to the dumpster had no markings to indicate that it was private, and as such, the
officer who accessed it believed that he was accessing a public road. Commercial property
owners can only expect reasonable privacy if they have taken appropriate steps to exclude public
access.
If I were an executive at bet air, I would recommend constructing a garbage room with
controlled access. I would also ensure that the road leading to the dumpster is marked to be
private.
References
US v. Hall, 47 F.3d 1091 (11th Cir. 1995).
California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35, 108 S. Ct. 1625, 100 L. Ed. 2d 30 (1988). Retrieved from
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6002389719901840494&q=California+v.+Green
wood&hl=en&as_sdt=2006
Prenkert, J. D., Barnes, J. A., Perry, J., Haugh, T., & Stemler, A. (2021). Business Law: The
Ethical, Global, and Digital Environment (18th ed.). McGraw Hill.
US v. Hall, 47 F.3d 1091 (11th Cir. 1995).
United States v. Dunn, 480 U.S. 294, 107 S. Ct. 1134, 94 L. Ed. 2d 326 (1987). Retrieved from
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7398367909639890113&q=United+States+v.+Du
nn&hl=en&as_sdt=2006