Florida v. Jardines
United States Supreme Court
569 U.S. 1 (2013)
Relevant factsFree
Acting on a tip that marijuana was being grown inside, a detective brought a drug-sniffing dog to Jardines's (defendant) porch, where the dog detected marijuana odor and sat at the strongest point, as trained; this alert supported a search warrant that led to marijuana being found and Jardines being arrested. Jardines argued the dog sniff itself was an unconstitutional search, and the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.
IssueFree
Whether using a drug-sniffing dog on a homeowner's porch to investigate the contents of the home is a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.