GA holds that a dog sniff of a car before dispatch confirms ID is valid because it didn’t extend the traffic stop

The dog sniff of defendant’s car took only five minutes and occurred during the normal incidents of a traffic stop for improper lane change. The officer had watched defendants go into an apartment, retrieve a duffle bag and then followed them and made the stop. There was nearly reasonable suspicion but the court doesn’t even mention it, instead going with the rationale that a dog sniff before identity is confirmed by dispatch is always valid. Williams v. State, 2016 Ga. App. LEXIS 117 (March 3, 2016):

Here, the evidence shows that prior to conducting the open-air sniff, the detective was conducting the ordinary activities of a traffic stop — he approached the F-250, questioned Williams about the traffic violation, and asked for both Williams’ and Espinoza’s identification. See Allen, supra, 298 Ga. at 6-8 (2) (b)-(c). The detective conducted the open-air sniff right after Espinoza produced a fake Georgia ID, and the open-air sniff took only about five minutes to complete. Moreover, at the time of the open-air sniff, the detective was still confirming Williams’ and Espinoza’s identities. Under these circumstances, the open-air sniff did not lengthen the stop. See Allen, supra, 298 Ga. at 5 (2) (a); Rodiguez, supra, 135 S. Ct. at 1618 (II). Consequently, the trial court properly denied Williams’ and Espinoza’s motions to suppress.

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