Colorado Supreme Court Says Sniff from Drug Dog is a Search Under the Constitution

On May 20, 2019, the Supreme Court of Colorado held police officers in Colorado must have probable cause to use a drug sniffing dog trained to detect marijuana because the dog could detect legal activity. See People v. McKnight, 446 P.3d 397, 400 (Colo. 2019). This means police in Colorado will need to stop using drug detection dogs that are trained to detect marijuana or they must have probable cause before using the dog. Additionally, this makes Colorado’s Fourth Amendment search and seizure laws stronger than the United States Constitution. Typically, police do not need probable cause to use drug detection dogs. In fact, drug detection dogs are used to create probable cause in many cases. For example, the United States Supreme Court has held that the use of drug detection dog on the exterior of a car during a lawful traffic stop does not violate the Fourth Amendment. See Illinois v. Caballes, 543 U.S. 405, 409-10 (2005). This is no longer the law in Colorado if the drug detection dog is trained to detect marijuana. Next time you are pulled over, if the police use a drug detection dog during the traffic stop, be sure to ask what the dog is trained to detect because the police’s response could change the outcome of your case.