Traffic stop, drug dog search okayed by 10th Circuit Court

By Correy Stephenson The Daily Record Newswire A traffic stop, along with the continued detention and search of the defendant's vehicle by a drug dog with a 58 percent track record of success, did not violate the Fourth Amendment, the 10th Circuit has ruled. The defendant was stopped for speeding. His behavior - including extreme nervousness and bizarre travel plans - aroused the police officer's suspicions. He brought in a drug-sniffing dog, who alerted to a compartment where the officer found 11 pounds of drugs. The defendant argued that the initial stop, continued detention and the dog's search of his car all violated his Fourth Amendment rights. But the court disagreed. It concluded that the officer's radar gun was reliable and he had a clear line of sight to the defendant's vehicle. Further, the defendant's continued detention after the officer finished writing his ticket was lawful given the totality of the circumstances, including the fact that the defendant failed to stop his vehicle promptly when pulled over and was driving a vehicle registered to a third party who wasn't present. The court also noted the "overpowering" smell of cologne, which the officer testified was often used by drug couriers to mask the smell of illegal drugs. The court rejected the argument that the dog was insufficiently reliable for his alert to produce probable cause. "While we hesitate to get into the business of affixing figures on probable cause, if we were pushed to do so we would hold this to be enough. After all, the probable cause doesn't require an officer's suspicion about the presence of contraband to be 'more likely true than false,'" the court said. U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit. U.S. v. Ludwig, No. 10-8009. April 22, 2011. Lawyers USA No. 993-2850. Published: Mon, May 2, 2011