E.D.Ky.: Even if dog unlawfully came on curtilage, officers’ plain smell of MJ from the street was PC

Officers went to defendant’s house suspecting a grow operation. On the sidewalk in front of his house, they could smell raw marijuana. They went to the door and window air conditioning unit and could smell it. They brought a drug dog to the house to sniff, and the dog alerted. There was plenty of probable cause besides the dog sniff, which the court finds violated curtilage, so the motion to suppress the search warrant is denied. United States v. Wingate, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127712 (E.D.Ky. Sept. 20, 2016). [Note that the court could remain true to Jardines and still find the probable cause for the search warrant based on the officers’ plain smell. No need to engage is gymnastics trying to find a way to get the dog legally on the premises.]