biggie

This is for one of the L.E.O. 's (or whoever I guess )

Well I just finished reading the 81 reply's post about driving while under the influence of mj (damn that was a long one ) and a past incident popped into my mind. A couple of buddies of mine were driving and got pulled over for breaking a triffic law. The officer said that it smelled like mj in the car (I think they had just taken a hit or two a peice so it probably did smell like mj). He searched both of my freinds that were in the car but found nothing. I'm not sure if he searched the car or not but if he did he found nothing there either. Then he said that he was going to call for a drug dog to search the car. For some reason he never did. So what I was wondering: is it possible for a officer to get a drug dog to search a persons car if they smell mj in the car (or have some other reason to beleive that there is some in the car)? The mj that was in the vehicle was well hidden, but I'm sure the dog would have found it, and then they would have most likely been busted. Thanks for your time

peace

Daniel

If the car smelled like marijuana and the cop smelled it, I think that gives the officer the right to search any way that he wanted, with or without the dog. Let's face it. If a cop smells weed in your car, you are pretty much screwed.


Given the situation that you described (assuming the officer was very sure that there was marijuana in the car) could the officer have the vehicle impounded for search?

Niteshift

Absolutely.

I don't need PC to have a dog sniff the car. A dog sniff is NOT a search. The dog is testing the air around the car and detecting the presence of a drug. If he detects it, then I have PC to search the car.

However, if the officer smells mj in the first place, he already has PC and can search the car. At that point, the dog is being brought in merely to assist in the search, since the dog can do it faster and more accurately.

biggie

Thank you for your post's, just curiosity on my part

peace

Megaweapon

More than likely he was just saying that as a scare tactic to get your friends to give in and give up whatever they had. Its a pretty common trick that works on the ignorant, but sometimes they arent bluffing when they say their getting a dog, So its better just to wait until your home to puff, Better safe than sorry.

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biggie

I agree with smoking at home and not on the road. This incident happened a few years back when I was in high school. Me and my freinds used to drive around all the time and smoke, or go to some boat landing or similiar place. I only had one freind who's parents didn't mind us smoking, so I would kick it at his place quite often. But the thing with being 17 or 18 is your usually living at home with your rents. mine definatly didn't aprove of drugs, so it was not possible for me to smoke at home(well I still did quite often, but it was tricky). So inorder to get high I would have to go somewhere, where do you go when none of your freinds' parents allow drug use at their houses? Hit the road for a spacey. I'm not saying that this justify's driving and smoking, I don't think anything does(back then I really didn't think about it though). But when parents won't allow their children to smoke at home, this kind of problem arises. I know that my parents were probablly less happy with me driving their car around getting stoned, but that way I didn't get in trouble. Whereas if I just walked outside and lit up a joint, my ass would have been chewed. It would have been much safer for everyone if I was allowed to smoke at home.

This must be very difficult for parent's to deal with. Having the dilema of: let their children get stoned and know about it, or tell them not to smoke and hope they don't go else where(usually the road, in the case of me and most people I knew in highschool).

peace

madToker69

Well any LEO that reads this. does that mean that a drug dog can be taken around a parking lot at school say and then give the oficers the right to search the car? If so what privacy do we really have that means i take it they could also walk down an apartment hall and then have the right to search your room!!!! is that true. if so do oficers regularly do stuff like that. thanks for the info whenever you get time

Niteshift

"does that mean that a drug dog can be taken around a parking lot at school say and then give the oficers the right to search the car?"

Absolutely. Want a really interesting one? If the owners of the mall asked us too, we can sniff cars in the parking lot. We've been requested to do this by the owners of a couple of bars and a bowling alley too.

"If so what privacy do we really have that means i take it they could also walk down an apartment hall and then have the right to search your room!!!! is that true."

It's not quite that simple. First, I have to legally be there. This would mean that the building owner would ask me in, since it's a private building.

Next, if the dog alerts on an apartment, it gives me probable cause, which I can use to get a warrant. With the car scenario, I don't need a warrant, but I do with the house/apartment.

"if so do oficers regularly do stuff like that."

I've done it at hotels and storage units before, but not apartments.

On a side note: You asked about privacy. The courts have consistently ruled that you have no reasonable expectation of privacy over the air surrounding your car, suitcase, home etc. Since a dog sniff is not a search under legal standards and it is not intrusive. So, in that sense, you have no right to privacy.

Daniel

What is the difference between a dog sniffing me and an officer searching me? Legally....


Does a cop have right to search everybody in the same situation that a dog can search?

I think I am missing something..... I don't know what.

Niteshift

"What is the difference between a dog sniffing me and an officer searching me? Legally...."

Legally, the dog sniff is not a search. The dog is sampling the air around the object (car, clothes etc). Searching you is, well, a search.

"Does a cop have right to search everybody in the same situation that a dog can search?"

No, because the dog sniff is not a search, therefore, the same rules do not apply. It changes when the dog alerts because the dogs documented ability to detect the drug is considered probable cause.