If you've been arrested after a drug dog search in Kansas, your rights may have been violated. Police use drug dogs routinely to establish probable cause and search for contraband. However, there are constitutional limitations on when and how these canine searches can be legally deployed.
It’s important to immediately contact a criminal defense attorney if you’ve been subjected to a police K-9 drug search. A knowledgeable defense lawyer can look at the circumstances of the K-9 drug search and determine whether your rights may have been violated. This could help lessen or even eliminate the charges against you.
Criminal cases involving drug dog searches in Kansas can be complicated and each has a unique set of circumstances. That being said, there are a couple of common instances when a K-9 search could be unlawful.
One key question is whether deployment of a police K-9 unreasonably prolonged the detention or constituted an unlawful search. Police cannot lengthen your detention just to bring in their K-9 unit if there was no other lawful reason for continuing to hold you.
However, the stop may be extended if the police officer has a reasonable and articulate suspicion of illegal activity under the totality of the circumstances. For example, nervousness, criminal history and the recent addition of a name to the vehicle registration have all constituted grounds for further detention.
Secondly, privacy expectations are most heightened in your home and the immediate surrounding area, which is legally known as the curtilage.
For instance, case law has determined front porches to be considered curtilage and a constitutionally protected area for Fourth Amendment purposes. So, although it’s not uncommon for people to approach the front door of a home, this doesn’t mean it’s acceptable for the police to conduct a drug dog search on the porch.
Another aspect of a case that involves a K-9 unit is determining whether the drug dog’s behavior constituted probable cause to conduct the search.
Prosecutors don’t have to present exhaustive field records to establish the reliability of the dog and the alert it gave the police officer. Rather, evidence of satisfactory performance in training or certification programs is sufficient.
However, you and your attorney have several potential defenses in cases where a K-9 unit was used to establish probable cause:
If you believe the drug dog search violated your rights, contact a defense attorney immediately. By challenging improperly executed or unreliable searches, evidence being used against you can be suppressed to potentially get the charges reduced or dismissed.
Contact Wichita, Kansas-based criminal defense attorney Jeremy D. Koop if you’ve been subjected to a K-9 unit search. He has extensive experience both as a prosecutor and a defense attorney in cases involving drug dogs and can defend your rights.
