WOOF: Drug dogs do not violate the Fourth Amendment by breathing
By Emilie Bean, Opinions Editor
On October 31st the United States Supreme Court heard Florida vs. Jardines, which is now causing them to answer the question: does police dog behavior outside of a private residence give officials the right to acquire a search warrant for illegal drugs inside of the home? Their answer should be yes.
It all started with a 2006 case that took place in Miami, Florida. Franky, a police drug dog was used to sniff outside the residence of a Mr. Joelis Jardines. Franky used his tell (sitting down) to show the police that there was indeed drugs inside of the house. Based on that evidence, the police obtained a search warrant, and unsurprisingly, found 179 marijuana plants in Jardines’ home. He was promptly arrested, but that was not the end of it.
During Jardines’ initial trial, the judge dismissed the evidence against him exclaiming that the plants were obtained through illegal search and seizure and that the Fourth Amendment was violated. Then, at his State appeal, the court reversed the ruling and rightly reinstated the drug charges against the defendant.
Again, this entire case should have been done right then and there. Jardines is a criminal; he had 179 pot plants in his house and should be convicted. Alas, in April of 2011, Florida Supreme court dismissed the case against Jardines. Their ruling was “there is simply nothing to prevent agents from applying the procedure in an arbitrary or discriminatory manner, or based on whim and fancy, at the home of a citizen.” This ruling is ridiculous. The police were not being discriminatory. A police dog sniffed illegal drugs outside of the house and made it known. Franky was doing his job and it was hardly done with a whim or a fancy. Sure, not all police dogs are perfect, and some may make a mistake, but Franky has an amazing track record. He is responsible for the seizure of more than 2.5 tons of marijuana and 4.9 million dollars of drug contaminated money.
Florida State Attorney, Pam Bondi was infuriated at the ending ruling, and petitioned the United Supreme Court to look into the case. She argued that a dog’s breathing of the air outside of a home is not even a search, let alone illegal. She also stated that by doing this “Florida Supreme court strips law enforcement of an irreplaceable tool in detecting those who grow marijuana in their living rooms, construct meth labs in their kitchen, hide bodies in their basements, or make bombs in their garages.”
Currently 18 states, and the territory of Guam, are in support of Bondi and the United States Supreme Court should follow their lead. Franky was breathing in air and smelled illegal drugs and with that many pot plants it is a wonder the police could not smell it too. The cops did not enter the house or poke around the yard; there was nothing illegal about the search and the case should have been closed long ago.