Thursday, June 13, 2013

Drug-sniffing dog within the curtilage without a search warrant violates the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures.

In People v Holt, __ Mich __ (# 145201, 6/7/2013) the Michigan Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeals reinstating the trial court’s order granting defendant’s motion to suppress.   In Florida v Jardines,  569 US ___; 133 S Ct 1409; 185 L Ed 2d 495 (2013)  the United States Supreme Court ruled that the employment of a drug-sniffing dog within the curtilage of the defendant’s home without a search warrant was a violation of the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures. In light of the prosecutor’s concession that absent the canine sniff the warrant was not supported by probable cause, and given the reasoning provided by the United States Supreme Court, the trial court in this case properly granted the defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence seized in the search of his home.