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M.D.Ala.: Dog sniff put in motion before illegal search was independent basis for search

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Dog sniff was independent of an illegal search after the dog was called, so the dog sniff supported the search. United States v. Rendon, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86409 (M.D. Ala. September 21, 2009): While the Eleventh Circuit has not squarely addressed whether a canine sniff can provide an independent source of probable cause that justifies the admission of otherwise tainted evidence, several other circuits and district courts have addressed the subject. For example, in United States v. Forbes, 528 F.3d 1273 (10th Cir. 2008), government agents searched the interior of defendant's tractor-trailer, allegedly in violation of the Fourth Amendment, and then conducted a canine sniff of the exterior of the tractor-trailer. Id. at 1275-76. During the sniff, the canine alerted to drugs in the tractor-trailer, which was subsequently searched...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on September 24, 2009 (boomark / email).