Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions involved the use of trained dogs to sniff for drugs in an effort to develop probable cause to conduct a search. In the first case, Harris, the Court decided that the use of the K-9 was acceptable.1 In the second case, Jardines, the Court decided that use of the K-9 was not acceptable.2 Each case has an important lesson for police operations. Harris reinforces the U.S. Supreme Court’s “totality of circumstances” rule,3 and Jardines requires respecting home privacy.
