Dog-sniffing case will go to the supreme court

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case from Florida that will decide whether or not the police need a warrant before they can bring a drug-sniffing dog to the front door of a house suspected of growing marijuana. As reported in Bloomberg Businessweek, this dog-sniffing case will go to the supreme court.

Video: Drug-Sniffing Dogs Could Warrant Home Searches

Police dogs have been very valuable when it comes to discovering drugs, explosives, and traces of  accelerants at the scene of an arson. This case directly involves the use of police dogs.

Dog-Sniffing Case Will Go To The Supreme Court

Video: Drug Dog's Sniff Is Unconstitutional Search, Supreme Court Rules

Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider whether police need a search warrant before bringing a drug-sniffing dog to the front door of a house where officers suspect marijuana is being grown.

The justices today said they will hear an appeal from Florida officials seeking to revive the prosecution of a man arrested after police raided a Miami house and found marijuana plants.

The Florida Supreme Court said prosecutors couldn’t use evidence obtained in the house because officers violated the U.S. constitutional ban on unreasonable searches.

Video: Dog sniffs out drugs in Lee Co., but could it soon be illegal?

Miami-Dade police began focusing on the house after receiving a tip that Joelis Jardines was growing marijuana there. A month later, two detectives went to the front porch with a drug-sniffing dog, who “alerted” at the door. One of the detectives said he also noticed the smell of marijuana.

The officers then left to get a search warrant before entering the house and discovering the plants. Jardines was charged with trafficking of cannabis and stealing electricity to grow the marijuana.

The case is Florida v. Jardines, 11-564.

It should be interesting to find out what the outcome of this case will be. From the brief description given in the article it is hard to determine if the police raid was excessive and it is unclear as to whether they received the search warrant. The court may also consider the fact that one of the detectives noticed the smell of marijuana. But the use of the drug sniffing dog appears to be the main issue and the Supreme Court will decide if the police need a search warrant before they bring such a dog to a suspected location.

The original article can be found here.  What do you think? Should this dog sniffing case go to the supreme court? Tell us your thoughts below!

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