When it comes to drug sniffing dogs, can they give officers probable cause to search your vehicle if they alert, with or without a warrant? Do officers even need a reason to have canines sniff you or your vehicle?
Drug sniffing dogs alerting can give officers the probable cause they need to get a warrant. However, during traffic stops, officers typically only need probable cause – not a warrant – to search vehicles, which they can get from drug sniffing dogs. Officers don’t need to get a warrant to let their canines sniff the perimeter of your car for drugs. They do not even need probable cause to do so, provided they do not unreasonably prolong the traffic stop so that dogs can complete their activities. If officers are unlawful during traffic stops and ultimately perform illegal searches on vehicles involving detection dogs, our lawyers may be able to get cases thrown out in Utah.
For a free and confidential case review from our Utah criminal defense lawyers, call Overson & Bugden at (801) 758-2287.
Can Drug Sniffing Dogs Create Probable Cause for a Warrant in Utah?
Drug sniffing dogs who alert could give police officers the probable cause they need to get a warrant and perform a search. That said, in most situations where drug sniffing dogs are used, officers do not actually need a warrant to perform a search, such as on a car. Drug sniffing dogs are instead typically used when police officers already have reasonable suspicion, mostly during traffic stops, and want to get probable cause, but not necessarily a warrant.
Police would need probable cause to get a warrant to search your home, and drug dogs might be able to assist with that.
Can Drug Sniffing Dogs Be Used Without Probable Cause in Utah?
Police officers don’t need probable cause or a warrant to let their drug detection dogs smell the exterior of your car at a traffic stop or your belongings as you pass by in a public space because this isn’t considered an actual “search” under the Fourth Amendment, though it could lead to one.
Officers can let their dogs walk the perimeter of cars at traffic stops if they pull you over for totally unrelated reasons, like running a stoplight, but find reasonable suspicion during that stop that you have drugs in your vehicle, e.g., from the scent coming from your car. When running your plates and driver’s license, an officer might let their partner take a drug sniffing dog with them around your vehicle. Provided the dog’s activity doesn’t extend the traffic stop, this would be legal in Utah, provided there are other articulable reasons to suspect you have illicit substances in your car.
That said, if you are pulled over, administered a ticket, and then the officer tells you they plan to have their drug sniffing dog walk your vehicle’s perimeter, you can refuse, unless they have reasonable suspicion for that additional part of the encounter. Even if the search continues, our Clearfield, UT criminal defense lawyers may be able to challenge it in court, as well as any charges brought against you. Once the reason for the traffic stop is addressed, the officer cannot keep you there unreasonably long and force you to wait for canines to walk around your vehicle unless they have reasonable suspicion to search your car or detain you.
Do the Police Need a Warrant to Search Your Car if a Drug Sniffing Dog Alerts in Utah?
The police might search your car without a warrant if they have probable cause to do so, meaning they have reason to believe your car contains drugs because of a detection dog alerting after walking the perimeter of your vehicle.
Without probable cause, officers would need your permission to search your vehicle immediately. To search it after the fact, they would need a warrant. If a police officer asks to search your vehicle, they might be biding time to get a canine unit to the scene. Remember, extending a traffic stop past its original purpose could make it unlawful, enabling us to challenge any subsequent searches or arrests. We would have to show that officers did not get new reasonable suspicion to keep you for the sniff search, such as you acting suspicious or panicky.
Challenging Drug Sniffing Dog Alerts, Searches, and Results in Utah
Even though police officers don’t need warrants and can rely on drug sniffing dogs alerting to get probable cause to search vehicles in Utah, that doesn’t mean the results of those searches will hold up in court. For example, suppose we can prove the sniffing itself was unlawful because the officer intentionally prolonged the traffic stop for the canine unit to arrive without having reasonable suspicion, didn’t follow protocol for handling drug sniffer dogs, or seemed to suggest a specific location in the vehicle to the dog. In that case, we might be able to get the search and any evidence resulting from it thrown out. While a traffic stop turned car search can be understandably stressful, do your best to pay attention to everything police officers do and say, as that could ultimately help your defense in Utah.
False Positives
Drug sniffing dogs, though useful tools for law enforcement, are not machines. Despite their training, they may make false detections, leading to unfair vehicle searches that our lawyers can help address. Dogs might make mistakes on their own, signaling that they detect narcotics or other drugs. They might get confused by smells from passing cars or not have the appropriate certifications to do the job. Cases involving drug detection dogs without the proper training and qualifications or histories of making false alerts might also be dismissed.
Cues from Handlers
Handlers, whether unintentionally or not, might give signals to their drug sniffing dogs, leading to false alerts. Not following the protocol for walking with sniffer dogs so that officers do not influence their findings could help us get the search and any resulting evidence thrown out, so pay attention to how officers walk around your vehicle with the canine, including what they say and how they hold the leash. Both handlers and canines must have the appropriate certifications renewed annually in Utah; otherwise, results could be skewed. Even when officers think they are appropriately following the protocols, they may give unconscious cues to their canines, and our lawyers may expose this by presenting qualified experts of our own to aid in your defense.
Prolonging Traffic Stops
Even perimeter open-air sniff searches of vehicles become illegal if officers intentionally stall and keep drivers present while waiting for dogs to arrive when they didn’t have cause to do so. Even if the officer brings the dog in just after the original purpose for the stop is addressed, the dog’s activity would become unlawful without additional cause to support the prolonged stop. Even if the dog made a positive alert on your vehicle and officers searched your vehicle and found illegal substances, that evidence might not be admissible because the search itself was illegal.
Call Our Utah Criminal Defense Attorneys Today
Call the Park City, UT criminal defense lawyers of Overson & Bugden for a free case evaluation at (801) 758-2287.
