MERCER, Pa.—A western Pennsylvania judge has tossed several beer cans from evidence against a former high school principal who's awaiting trial on charges she supplied beer to underage former students—one of whom later crashed into an Amish buggy while allegedly driving drunk.

The Herald of Sharon, Pa. ( http://bit.ly/TDP4Cd) says Mercer County Judge Robert Yeatts has determined state police were wrong to seize the cans without a search warrant because they were in the garbage near former Lakeview High School principal Elizabeth Auer's (ours) home.

The judge says Auer's trash was still private at that point, because it hadn't been put out for collectors.

She was charged with providing beer to a 20-year-old former student who did yard work for her, after he was charged in the crash on July 11, 2011.

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Information from: The Herald, http://www.sharon-herald.com