Search and Seizure Cases in the October 2012 Term of the Supreme Court [May 15, 2013]   [open pdf - 278KB]

"This term, the Supreme Court considers whether (1) deploying a drug-detecting dog at the front door of a house qualifies as a Fourth Amendment search ('Florida v. Jardines'); (2) the positive reaction of a trained, drug-detecting dog constitutes probable cause per se (Florida v. Harris); and (3) the rationale which permits the warrantless, suspicionless detention of individuals found in a place covered by a search warrant also permits the warrantless, suspicionless off-site apprehension and return of individuals who have recently left a place covered by a search warrant ('Bailey v. United States'). The Supreme Court has said in the past that walking a drug-detecting dog around a car pulled over on the highway or around luggage in an airport is not a Fourth Amendment search. Nevertheless, the Court in 'Jardines' noted that those cases were decided under the 'expectation of privacy' rationale. Under the alternative 'property intrusion' rationale, a Fourth Amendment search occurred when police used a trained dog to test for the smell of marijuana on Jardines's porch."