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Use of a drug dog that did not extend stop was valid under Caballes

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A traffic stop that led to a nearly immediate drug dog sniff was not extended and the dog sniff was valid under Caballes. Padilla v. State, 2008 Md. App. LEXIS 65 (May 30, 2008): Therefore, under the Fourth Amendment, "[u]sing a dog is accepted as a perfectly legitimate utilization of a free investigative bonus as long as the traffic stop is still genuinely in progress." State v. Ofori, 170 Md. App. 211, 235 (2006). But, "[o]nce a traffic stop is over, there is no waiting for the arrival, even the imminent arrival, of the K-9 unit." Id. As Judge Moylan wrote for the Court, the use of a drug dog in a traffic stop is "an effective investigative tool if the police can squeeze it in before the buzzer sounds. ..." Id. at 238. Appellant does not dispute that there was reasonable suspicion to justify his initial traffic stop for speeding...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on June 03, 2008 (boomark / email).