You may recall a day when the police drove cars and you may have noticed that that is not the norm any longer. Every wonder why? They’re more expensive and cost more to maintain. So why the extra tax bucks? Simple…you’ll also notice a good chunk of them are K9 units, a LOT of k9 units. That’s a good thing, right?! Hell no. The reason why so many police departments have gone K9 is a case that came out 2 years ago called Harris v. Florida. In that case, the US Supreme Court elected to erode our Fourth Amendment rights even further by saying, essentially, that a K9 alert usurps the need for a search warrant. “A search warrant on a leash,” it’s called. But, wait a minute. What if the dog is old and hasn’t had an affirmative hit in 5 years? Too bad, no problem. Those hundreds of cars still have the US Supreme Court’s blessing to be searched without the need to bother a judge for a warrant based upon probable cause. Thankfully, the Court restrained themselves and said the same set of facts don’t apply to a residence but, chicken as they are, they limited their interpretation to whether officers are “invitees.” What?!
Leave a Reply