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Well on the other hand, one could also argue that when you put the trash on curb you give away any rights to it - which means that the trash becomes a public pr

Well on the other hand, one could also argue that when you put the trash on curb you give away any rights to it - which means that the trash becomes a public property that Feds have access to. Vehicles on the other hand, even when they are on public property still belong to the owner and hence although no trespassing is required in planting the device (inside or outside the vehicle), the Feds would still be meddling with private property.

kirillzubovsky 15y ago
You know, that brings up a good point. Maybe you could make a claim that when putting garbage on the curbside, you're simply "parking" it there until the pickup in the morning. In this case, you could argue the garbage becomes public properly only after it is collected, and only by the collection services, which you would expect on regular basis. Thus you'd prevent FBI from just pick up your trash, saying "well, you were gonna give it up anyway". Thoughts?
karlshea 15y ago
If you read the actual opinion (which I recommend, it's very interesting), placing the tracking device on the vehicle's undercarriage is actually trespass: "It is important to be clear about what occurred in this case: The Government physically occupied private property for the purpose of obtaining information. We have no doubt that such a physical intrusion would have been considered a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment when it was adopted." (page 4 of the opinion, 6 of the pdf) http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-1259.pdf http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-1259.pdf
a_a_r_o_n 15y ago
> Well on the other hand, one could also argue that when you put the trash on curb you give away any rights to it - which means that the trash becomes a public property that Feds have access to. You could make that argument, but I'd disagree. Law enforcement can (should) only do what we the people allow.

kirillzubovsky 15y ago

You know, that brings up a good point. Maybe you could make a claim that when putting garbage on the curbside, you're simply "parking" it there until the pickup in the morning. In this case, you could argue the garbage becomes public properly only after it is collected, and only by the collection services, which you would expect on regular basis. Thus you'd prevent FBI from just pick up your trash, saying "well, you were gonna give it up anyway". Thoughts?

karlshea 15y ago

If you read the actual opinion (which I recommend, it's very interesting), placing the tracking device on the vehicle's undercarriage is actually trespass: "It is important to be clear about what occurred in this case: The Government physically occupied private property for the purpose of obtaining information. We have no doubt that such a physical intrusion would have been considered a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment when it was adopted." (page 4 of the opinion, 6 of the pdf) http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-1259.pdf http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-1259.pdf

a_a_r_o_n 15y ago

> Well on the other hand, one could also argue that when you put the trash on curb you give away any rights to it - which means that the trash becomes a public property that Feds have access to. You could make that argument, but I'd disagree. Law enforcement can (should) only do what we the people allow.