State v. Crane

OPINION

VIGIL, Chief Justice.

{1} With this opinion we address whether, pursuant to Article II, Section 10 of the New Mexico Constitution, Kevyn Crane (Defendant) had a reasonable expectation of privacy in garbage left out for collection in a motel dumpster. The district court found that Defendant did have such an expectation, and it entered an order suppressing evidence obtained in the dumpster, as well as evidence later obtained by a warrant, which it found was the proverbial fruit of the poisonous tree. The Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s ruling, relying on its holding in State…