{"id":3353,"date":"2009-12-25T05:38:37","date_gmt":"2009-09-03T07:17:17","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-09-03T07:17:17","slug":"en-US","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/?p=3353","title":{"rendered":"N.D.Ind.: Uncertified drug dog was still qualified by track record"},"content":{"rendered":"

The government [just barely] showed that the drug dog and the handler were “well qualified” (Caballes<\/a>). While the dog was certified through 2006, it was not certified since, but its general reliability was enough. [Essentially, the handler can make the dog qualify by testifying to a good track record.] United States v. Colon-Arenas, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 77953 (N.D. Ind. August 25, 2009):<\/p>\n

The record discloses that this dog and handler were well-trained. They underwent a five-week training period together, and five subsequent two-day sessions that each provided fifteen hours of training. Although that training ended thirty months before the Monte Carlo search, Officer Kanaar continued to provide the dog with eight hours of training per month. Officer Kanaar isn’t a certified trainer, but it is reasonable to infer he learned something about how to train his dogs in the sessions in Denver.<\/p>\n

Most importantly, Officer Kanaar testified that he has found his dog to be reliable at detecting narcotics. That is, after all, the bottom line when it comes to evaluating information on which probable cause was found. …<\/p>\n

At bottom, then, this case involves an alert by a highly trained narcotics detection dog who has been reliable in the past. Were the standard higher than probable cause, or if the dog’s alert provided the only basis for belief that drugs were in the Monte Carlo, the lack of recent recertification (and lack of evidence about just what the lack of recertification means) and more specific reports than “has been reliable in the past” might defeat use of the dog’s alert. Under the circumstances of this case, though, the government’s showing is minimally sufficient.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In a patdown that produces drugs, the officer can handcuff the defendant without elevating the stop to the arrest because of the potential danger to the officer from the discovery. Seizure of one thing from the defendant’s pocket that might have been unreasonable did not transform the frisk into an unlawful stop. An inventory of his vehicle ultimately occurred for independent reasons unrelated to the excessive frisk. [Note, the government also sought leave to argue McCane and the Gant GFE<\/a>, which was moot.] United States v. Albert<\/a>, 579 F.3d 1188 (10th Cir. 2009).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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