United States Supreme Court Holds No Canine Sniff of Front Porch without Warrant
Prepared by the Law Office of Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr., Esq., as a public service.
The facts of Florida v. Jardines (2013) are simple and straight forward. The police in Florida took a drug-sniffing canine to the front porch of the defendant’s home to see whether the dog would make a positive hit for drugs. The dog did, and based on the that positive hit, the police obtained a search warrant to search the home. In searching the home pursuant to the warrant the police discovered marijuana plants, and the defendant was charged with trafficking in CDS.
The evidence was suppressed by the lower courts in Florida and affirmed by the Florida Supreme Court. The United States took certiorari and our highest court agreed that the police had no right to bring the drug-sniffing dog on the defendant’s porch without a warrant. That any search of a home or its curtilage without a warrant was a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Following Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. 170, 180 (1984), which held that any area immediately surrounding and associated with the house is part of the home for purposes of Fourth Amendment protection.
If you have been arrested as result of a search of your home, office or motor vehicle without a warrant you must seek competent legal advice from an experienced criminal defense attorney, to see if your fourth amendment rights have been violated and your chances of obtaining a dismissal based on a motion to suppress the evidence illegally seized.
Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr., Esq.
YourCivilRights@gmail.com
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