{"id":5486,"date":"2011-04-26T05:46:24","date_gmt":"2011-04-26T05:45:47","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-04-26T05:45:47","slug":"en-US","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/?p=5486","title":{"rendered":"OH8: A dog alert on cash is meaningless, and it does not support seizure of the money"},"content":{"rendered":"

A dog alert on cash is meaningless, and it does not support seizure of the money. Harris v. City of Mayfield Heights<\/a>, 2011 Ohio 1943, 2011 Ohio App. LEXIS 1652 (8th Dist. April 21, 2011):<\/p>\n

[*P19] We find the appellees\u2019 reliance on the drug dog\u2019s positive hit on Harris\u2019s currency insufficient to support an inference of criminal activity. In United States v. $5,000 in U.S. Currency<\/a> (C.A.6, 1994), 40 F.3d 846, the court addressed the unreliability of using narcotics-trained dogs in drug cases. The court relied on studies showing that most currency in this country is tainted with traces of narcotics. Id. The court found \u201cthe evidentiary value of the narcotics dog\u2019s alert to be minimal.\u201d Id. at 849. The court reversed the order of forfeiture because there was little other evidence to connect the currency to drug activity. Id<\/a>. at 850; See United States v. $53,082.00 in United States Currency<\/a> (C.A.6, 1993), 985 F.2d 245, 250, citing United States v. $80,760.00 in United States Currency<\/a> (N.D.Texas 1991), 781 F.Supp. 462, 475, fn. 32 (\u201cThere is some indication that residue from narcotics contaminates as much as 96% of the currency currently in circulation.\u201d); see, also, $5,000 in United States Currency at 849; United States v. Carr<\/a> (C.A. 3, 1994), 25 F.3d 1194; United States v. $639,558.00 in United States Currency<\/a> (C.A. D.C. 1992), 955 F.2d 712, 714, 293 U.S. App. D.C. 384.<\/p>\n

[*P20] In Six Hundred Thirty-Nine Thousand Five Hundred and Fifty-Eight Dollars ($639,558) in United States Currency, the court cited the testimony of an expert, Dr. James Woodford, who testified that 90% of all cash in the United States contains sufficient quantities of cocaine to alert a trained dog. The court also noted that there was at least one study indicating that up to 97% of all bills in circulation are contaminated by cocaine, with an average of 7.3 micrograms of cocaine per bill. Crime and Chemical Analysis 243 SCIENCE 1554 (1989). Id. At a footnote, the court wrote:<\/p>\n

[*P21] \u201cWhy the nation\u2019s currency is so thoroughly corrupted has been a topic of inquiry. It has been estimated that one out of every three circulating bills has been involved in a cocaine transaction. R. Siegel, Intoxication 293 (1989). Cocaine attaches \u2014in a variety of ways \u2014 to the bills, which in turn contaminate others as they pass through cash registers, cash drawers, and counting machines at banks and commercial establishments, id.; Crime and Chemical Analysis, supra note 2, at 1555; Tr. I at 28. Dr. Woodford testified that, as a result, bills may contain as little as a millionth of a gram of cocaine, but that is many times more cocaine than is needed for a dog to alert. Officer Beard related that 10 percent of the alerts he had witnessed were to cash alone, a phenomenon we have encountered before. United States v. Trayer<\/a>, 898 F.2d 805, 808-09, 283 U.S. App. D.C. 208 & n. 3 (D.C.Cir. 1990). See generally Taslitz, Does the Cold Nose Know? The Unscientific Myth of the Dog Scent Lineup, 42 Hastings L.J. 15, 29 & n. 71 (1990). If the information related above proves accurate, a court considering whether a dog sniff provides probable cause, see generally United States v. Colyer<\/a>, 878 F.2d 469, 471, 278 U.S. App. D.C. 367 & n. 2, 483 (D.C.Cir. 1989), may have to take into account the possibility that the dog signaled only the presence of money, not drugs.\u201d Id. at fn 2.<\/p>\n

[*P22] Here, similar to the federal cases cited above, the city of Mayfield Heights had no evidence, other than the positive drug sniff of the narcotics dog, that the money found on Harris was related to drug activity. … <\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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