The use of Drug Dogs – Facts you need to know to protect your Constitutional Rights
A growing trend in the “War on Drugs” is the use of drug dogs to alert on a vehicle or house, which allegedly provides law enforcement with “probable cause” to search.
It is very important to understand your CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS:
You have the right to NOT consent to the search.
You have the right to consent to a search and specific areas for consent to search (examples: purse only, inside of car only, garage only).
You are NOT required to waive any of your rights with law enforcement.
Drug dog and their handlers must be properly trained, adhere to strict procedures during the search and maintain records of each search concerning the dog and its handler’s success/failure rate.
Under civil forfeiture, the seizure of the your car, money, real estate and other valuables can happen should the drug dog alert and uncover the presence of an illegal substance.
I am often consulted by people victimized in searches performed by drug dogs and their handlers.
Know and protect your Constitutional Rights – this could help mitigate criminal and legal issues that can arise from warrantless searches.
If during a routine traffic stop, a Peace Officer wants to search your vehicle or claims that he will get a Drug Dog to do the same, do not consent to the search.
By law, the stop is only permitted to last as long as the normal time-frame allowed for the reason for the stop.
Bottom line – when in doubt – do NOT give consent to search.
