Posted on 12/29/2011 8:27:34 PM PST by bamahead
SCOTUSblog flags a pending cert petition on an interesting Fourth Amendment question:
What limits, if any, does the Fourth Amendment place on the use of a trained drug-sniffing dog to approach the front door of a home?
The police might do this to see if the dog will alert for the presence of narcotics in the home, which might then be used to help show probable cause and obtain a warrant to search it. Under Illinois v. Caballes, the use of the dog around a car is not a “search” and therefore outside the Fourth Amendment. The question is, does the Caballes rule apply when the dog is brought to the front door of a home rather than a car? A divided Florida Supreme Court ruled in Jardines v. State that Caballes does not apply and that probable cause is required to bring the dog up to the home for a sniff.
--SNIP--
Everyone agrees that use of human senses can’t themselves violate the Fourth Amendment (eyesight, hearing, smelling, etc.), and the Court has held that the use of some sense-enhancing devices is okay (such as flashights) while the use of other sense-enhancing devices crosses the line and becomes a search (such as the use of thermal imaging devices on a home). In the case of sniffs around a car, reasonable people can disagree for a number of reasons on how dog sniffs should fit in this framework. But once the Court announces the rule for the common case of the sniff around a car, as it did in Caballes, some officer is going to try to use the rule to see if it applies elsewhere, as in a search around a home.
(Excerpt) Read more at volokh.com ...
You might be right. I just said that cops shoot dogs all the time and seem to enjoy doing so. I made no mention of rural vs urban.
“That is the dividing line. The police cannot trespass on your private property, be it your home lot or inside your car. As long as they are walking on public ground, they are welcome to come as close to your car or your home as public ground can get them.”
God, how I love living up a dirt lane on a mountain 20 miles west of nowhere.
Soon as you turn off the paved county road, you are trespassing.
How cool is that?
These people were on the highway and not in an urban area and Yep...cops kill their dog.
Corrupt Feds attacking an armed compound.
Apples and oranges.
Try again.
“they pleaded with officers to close the doors of their car so their two dogs would not escape, but the officers did not heed them.”
My dogs are always buckled in with seat belt harnesses for their own safety in case of an accident and are incapable of getting out of the car during a traffic stop.
Try again.
Yes, it’s apparently becoming a “sport” and it disgusts me like nothing else.
I used to be a stalwart defender of LEOs because most of my family have been involved in law enforcement of one kind or another.
-None- of them would shoot somebody’s dog.
Not seeing any mention of Appalachia.
Pretty sure LEOs already do that.
Most Pipe Bombs, aka: IEDs, are made with gunpowder (or black powder). And if you're a 'person of interest aka: suspect, like in some car bombing, dogs will be at your house at some time. Warrant or no warrant, they'll be sniffing around.
so, on fidos 'word' we flip the presumption of innocence on its head...
public street or private home, its wrong to allow Rights to be diminished because a dog smells a BLT, OR his boss has trained him to 'alert' when desired...
dogs are amazing animals, and loyal...leos, well, theyve abused what little authority that has been vested in em long enough for me to say that they must 'prove' the ability to read the dogs mind...
Shoot one and its just like murdering a cop
Just striking one when it's chewing on your ass will get you an assaulting a police officer charge too. I never felt that was fair, when a dog is biting you it is nothing like fighting with an officer, you instinctively will try and stop it. If I was on a jury and this charge came up I might convict him on every other charge there, but I would never vote to convict for fighting off a biting dog.
If one can find instances that dogs have indeed alerted on items other than what was intended, they should be excluded from gaining probable cause warrants.
Just my lil ol pinion.
Lots of parents with teens who drove were humiliated by the process.
I don't agree with everything Ron Paul say’z and I've really struggled with this decision, but he is the only candidate talking individual liberties and the erosion of them since 911.
I'm furious that our government would turn their prying eyes on American citizens and spend billions beefing up local law enforcement agencies militaristic capabilities all across this nation.
What the hell? It's time to elect folks in all branches of government that use that old dusty document called the constitution as a guide post in policy.
Clearly the constitution, separation of power therein has been ignored and marginalized. Great concern for me.
On the bright side, my lead-plated roofing business will be booming then!
“They’re not gonna shoot a dog in a fenced yard...especially if I’m out there with him.”
Haha. You’re a funny guy.
At that point, I’d just like to make a bazzillion dollars with a talking dog...More money in that, than sniffing out drugs...
you might want to re-think that plan.
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