Supreme Court Considering Drug Sniffing Dog Cases Today
[addthis tool="addthis_inline_share_toolbox_p165"]Today, the United States Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments on two cases involving drug sniffing dogs. The facts of each case are different but the legal issues are roughly the same. What are the 4th Amendment limitations on the use of drug sniffing dogs? On December 5, 2006 a “crime stopper” had tipped off the police that marijuana was being grown inside the home of Joelis Jardines’ home near Miami Florida. Armed with this tip, a police officer went to the door of the residence with a trained drug sniffing Labrador Retriever named Franky. Franky sniffed the door and sat down, continuing to sniff the bottom of the door. The dog had been trained to give that sign if it smelled marijuana. The police then obtained a search warrant of Jardines’s home and entered to find Jardines was growing marijuana plants inside the home and charged him with possession of 25 pounds of marijuana and stealing the electricity used to power the equipment ...