United States v. John A. Kramer

CUMMINGS,

Chief Judge.

This appeal from a criminal conviction involves a number of issues, the most interesting of which is whether the warrantless search of people’s garbage, put outside their homes for collection, violates any interest protected by the Fourth Amendment.

Defendant was indicted for two counts of drug trafficking (21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846) and two counts of tax evasion (26 U.S.C. § 7201). The indictment charged that defendant had conspired with unidentified persons to distribute large quantities of marijuana and amphetamines during the years 1977 and 1978, that on one…