www.CharlesJeromeWare.com ("We fight. You win.")
On March 26, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled that Florida police violated a homeowner's 4th and 14th Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution when they used "Franky", a trained drug-sniffing dog, to sniff for narcotics on the front porch of a private home.
This use of the dog was a "search" within the meaning of the 4th Amendment said the Court, thus requiring "probable cause" and a search warrant. Therefore, "Franky" loses.
The Court's opinion in this 5-4 decision was delivered by Justice Antonin Scalia, and joined by four justices, while four other justices dissented. Justice Kagan, joined by Justice Sotomayor and Justice Ginsburg, filed a concurring opinion. 27 U.S. states and the Federal government, among others, had supported Florida's argument that this use of a police dog was an acceptable form of minimally invasive warrantless search.
[www.abajournal.com/news/article/ "Drug Dog Sniff Outside Home Is Search..."; www.scotusblog.com/2013/03/26/ "Opinion Issued in Florida v. Jardines"; Florida v. Jardines, Docket # 11-564, U.S. Supreme Ct., March 26, 2013; www.nytimes.com/03-26-2013/US/ "Justices, Citing Ban On Unreasonable Searches, Limit Use Of Drug-Sniffing Dogs"]
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