Dumpster diving...

The Edmonton Journal
June 3, 1999

A man's home may be his castle, but his garbage is up for grabs.

So says Canada's Supreme Court. The justices have declined to hear the appeal
of John Krist, a B.C. man convicted of marijuana possession after police found
cannabis plants in two garbage bags he'd put out for pickup.

The court's decision affirms the earlier ruling of the B.C. Court of Appeal,
which held that the RCMP did not need a warrant to search Krist's garbage.
Abandoned trash, they said, enjoys no "reasonable expectation of privacy."

This is a victory for common sense. Once you haul your kitchen catcher to the
lane, you've clearly surrendered your right to privacy.

The lesson here is obvious. Canny crooks who need to dump evidence should
consider using a garburator or a good old compost heap. When the cops come
calling, the Man from Glad can't help you.