Can the Police Use a Drug-Sniffing Dog During a Traffic Stop or Search?

Police officers can use investigatory aids, like drug-sniffing dogs, in some cases.

Yes, if they have a valid search warrant, or more likely if they have probable cause to believe that the vehicle or person may be transporting drugs. Physical symptoms of drug use, such as bloodshot eyes, may not satisfy this requirement. Physical symptoms give police officers probable cause to believe the driver or person is impaired, but they do not necessarily mean the person is using drugs at the time. The effects of marijuana, for example, last up to six hours after use.

If police illegally used a drug-sniffing dog, a Ft. Worth criminal defense lawyer can exclude the seized drugs at trial because they are fruit from a poisonous tree. Many criminal cases can move forward without physical evidence. However, possession, trafficking, and other drug cases cannot move forward without physical evidence. So, prosecutors are often forced to reduce charges to something like reckless conduct. Such lesser-included offenses have minuscule direct and collateral consequences when compared to drug cases, meaning that such a plea is a “win” for defendants.

Warrant Requirements

Usually, police officers obtain search warrants during lengthy investigations of large-scale drug trafficking or other illegal conduct. All search warrants must meet certain technical requirements.

Initially, the issuing judge must have jurisdiction over the property to be searched. Usually, Tarrant County judges only have jurisdiction over property in Tarrant County, Parker County judges only have jurisdiction over property in Parker County, and so on.

If a Tarrant County judge issues a warrant to search property in Parker County, even if that warrant is otherwise technically sound, that warrant is probably no good.

Additionally, the warrant must be based on an affidavit that establishes probable cause. The sworn affidavit must be based on personally observed facts or the reliable testimony of a confidential informant.

The accuracy of the CI-provided information is irrelevant because prosecutors cannot work backward. They cannot argue that if the dog found drugs, the information in the affidavit was reliable. A broken clock is accurate twice a day, but a broken clock is unreliable.

Finally, the search warrant must be limited. Usually, drug-sniffing dogs can only search one location. They cannot search a house, a car, a garage, a warehouse, and all other property the defendant owns.

Probable Cause

If a search warrant exception applies, police officers in Texas can skip the search warrant jurisdiction and affidavit requirements.

Consent is probably the most common search warrant exception. Owners or apparent owners (e.g., a roommate whose name is not on the lease) may affirmatively and voluntarily consent to property searches.

Affirmative consent is clear verbal permission to search property for a certain purpose. Opening a door is not consent to search. Agreeing to let an officer “have a look around” is not consent to search either, at least in most cases.

Most importantly, the consent must be voluntary. Officers frequently bully owners in these cases, generally by threatening to get a search warrant if the owner does not consent. Courts allow some pressure, but extreme pressure crosses the line.

Incidentally, the “consent or we’ll get a warrant” threat is usually an empty threat. If officers had probable cause to obtain a search warrant, they wouldn’t ask for owner consent.

Work With a Determined Tarrant County Criminal Defense Attorney

Police officers can only summon drug-sniffing dogs in rare cases. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense lawyer in Ft. Worth, contact the Law Office of Kyle Whitaker. We routinely handle matters throughout North Texas.