OTHER ALERTS:
Summary:
If you have a legal right to be where you are, if a dog inadvertently alerts to the odor of narcotics, that sniff is not a search. Upon the positive alert, you now have probable cause to either search or get a warrant.
A) United States v Reed (141 F. 3d 644 (1998) Sixth Circuit
An exception allows police to enter a residence without a warrant if there is probable cause to believe there is a burglary in progress.
A canine sniff is not a search, although the canine team must lawfully be present at that location.
The canine team was lawfully present in residence pursuant to warrant exception for pursuit of burglar, and therefore any contraband sniffed by the canine fell within the “canine sniff” rule.
Even if the canine caused a dresser drawer to open when it scratched at the dresser alerting to contraband, the alert itself provided probable cause for a search warrant.
The fact the handler was able to view contraband in the opened drawer due to his canine’s actions, did not render the search illegal.