"DRUG DOG'S 'SNIFF UP TO SNUFF'": Says U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS)

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com
twitter.com/charlesjware (February 25, 2013)

Florida v. Harris, No. 11-817, Supreme Court of the United States, Decided February 19, 2013

www.abajournal.com/news/2-19-2013/SCOTUS: Drug Dog's Sniff 'Up to Snuff'".

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that an alert by Aldo the drug-sniffing German shepherd gave a Florida police officer probable cause to search a truck with an expired license plate.

In a unanimous opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court said the state does not need to establish the dog's field history to establish probable cause. Absent evidence to the contrary, the state can show a dog's reliability with evidence that the canine has been certified by a bona fide organization or has completed a training program evaluating proficiency, the court said.

Officer Wheetley pulled over respondent Harris for a routine traffic stop. Observing Harris’s nervousness and an open beer can, Wheetley sought consent to search Harris’s truck. When Harris refused, Wheetley executed a sniff test with his trained narcotics dog, Aldo.The dog alerted at the driver’s-side door handle, leading Wheetley to conclude that he had probable cause for a search. That search turned up nothing Aldo was trained to detect, but did reveal pseudoephedrine and other ingredients for manufacturing methamphetamine. Harris was arrested and charged with illegal possession of those ingredients. In a subsequent stop while Harris was out on bail, Aldoagain alerted on Harris’s truck but nothing of interest was found. At a suppression hearing, Wheetley testified about his and Aldo’s extensive training in drug detection. Harris’s attorney did not contest the quality of that training, focusing instead on Aldo’s certification and performance in the field, particularly in the two stops of Harris’s truck. The trial court denied the motion to suppress, but the Florida Supreme Court reversed. It held that a wide array of evidence was always necessary to establish probable cause, including field performance records showing how many times the dog has falsely alerted. If an officer like Wheetley failed to keep such records, he could never have probable cause to think the dog a reliable indicator of drugs.

Held: Because training and testing records supported Aldo’s reliability in detecting drugs and Harris failed to undermine that evidence, Wheetley had probable cause to search Harris’s truck.

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