MT: Leaving something in trash can in place defendant visited as a guest was abandonment

Placing something in a trash can inside a place where the defendant had guest standing before he left was evidence of his abandonment. State v. Shelton, 2008 MT 282, 345 Mont. 330, 191 P.3d 420 (2008):

[*P16] Generally, one has little or no expectation of privacy in garbage, especially if it is deemed to have been abandoned. See e.g. LaFave, Search and Seizure: A Treatise on the Fourth Amendment vol. 1, § 2.6(c), 689-702. Had Shelton left the marijuana seed and residue in his own garbage can inside his own apartment, he might have a stronger case. See e.g. 1993 Chevrolet Pickup, P 12 (suggesting that garbage inside one’s home would enjoy greater privacy protection than that left outside on the curb, exposed to the public). Shelton, however, discarded the bag in a garbage can in his friend’s apartment. Absent any evidence that he intended to return for the bag of trash, we may presume that Shelton abandoned the trash. 1993 Chevrolet Pickup, P 15 (noting that in the absence of “express intent,” abandonment of property may be inferred from a person’s actions alone). Wood, Johnson, or any other number of persons could have rifled through that garbage. See e.g. 1993 Chevrolet Pickup, P 16. Shelton relinquished control over the garbage when he left Wood’s apartment. When “a person intentionally abandons his property, that person’s expectation of privacy with regard to that property is abandoned as well.” 1993 Chevrolet Pickup, P 14. Shelton has no reasonable expectation of privacy in a bag of trash that he abandoned.