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Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Portland’s top brass said it was OK to swipe people’s garbage — until a newspaper took their trash

So what happens when you’re told by a Prosecutor that your garbage is no longer yours when you put it on the curb? Surely the 4th Amendment would cover the unlawful search and seizure of your property, including your trashcan, right?

NOPE! At least, that was the answer given by Prosecutor Mark McDonnell who said that when it hits the curb, it become public property and therefore anyone can go through it at their leisure. The thought alone makes my skin crawl, but instead of letting their disgust get the better of them, a group of clever journalists decided to test McDonnell’s dedication to this.

In March, the police decided to snag the garbage of police officer Gina Hoesly without permission. Despite not having a warrant, a bloody tampon (among other things) became the basis of a drug charge against her.

When asked about the legality of such a move (many people were rightly concerned that this was a severe violation of privacy) the Prosecutor gave a simple, smug answer.

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4 comments:

  1. My dna was obtained from trash I threw in a trash can at a local restaurant.I have no idea whatsoever what I was suspected of,but I saw this guy watching me the entire time I was eating & then I stood where he couldn't see me. I then watched him remove the exact trash I dumped & leave the place with it.

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  2. Thats why you buy a shredder and make a firepit and also makes a nice fire just saying this has been a issue for a long time here in salisbury pretty sure jail inmates get time off for going through trash at landfill so just saying another issue here in town people unaware of other than inmates whos done it

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  3. The rights of the people to be free from warrant-less searches disappeared about 15 years ago.
    The other rights, too.

    You cheered.
    Pay the price now.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I gave up on the courts after a not guilty on an assault, because the prosecution forgot to ask the victim whether he wanted or gave permissions to the suspect to hit or harm him.

    ReplyDelete

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