I too wondered if this says police can not search trash any more. So I read the article. It appears:
1. The woman who bought the ticket later returned to the store.
2. The ticket was scanned and returned as not a winner.
3. The woman dropped said ticket into a can on the counter for discarded tickets.
4. The second woman apparently not employed by the store at some point later took a bunch of tickets from the can to recheck. [I am not sure if rechecking could be because some people just look at posted numbers and do not have the tickets scanned? ]
My view is:
A. The second woman legally is due to winnings, unless somehow she involved in a scam to falsely tell the person who bought the ticket it was not a winner.
B. The woman who bought the ticket has a cause of action for $1,000,000 against the store or the lottery system and the software company depending on who owns the machine in the store that told her her ticket was not a winner, unless somehow she is lying about scanning the ticket and just read the numbers and concluded on her own she did not win.
I am not an attorney but that is how I see it.
Sounds reasonable to sane people but we are talking about Judges!