QUESTION

can police use drug sniffing dogs to search my vehicle in my driveway if they arrest me as i am getting in my car to leave home in the state of Texas?

Asked on Nov 04th, 2013 on Criminal Law - Texas
More details to this question:
If drug sniffing dogs are used to sniff your home or vehicle, don't they have to do it in your presence if you are already detained and not a threat? Is it legal to then seize without me being there? Most importantly, is all of this legal without a warrant? What warrants, if any, are required? What if no arrest warrants or search warrants are given? When, where and what warrants have to be produced in Texas before dogs can be used, searches take place and seizures occur and what are my rights to be present?
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2 ANSWERS

First you must understand there is a huge difference between what can be done with respect to searching the home with dogs versus searching your car with those same dogs.  The use of drug sniffing dogs has been in vogue all over the Country for the last several years. Recently, their use has been called into question, quite successfully. The fact that drug sniffing dogs were used suggests to me you need to hire the best attorney you can afford. There will no doubt be some serious issues that might help you out of this situation, provided the right attorney looks at it. Generally, cops need a warrant to conduct a search. There are exceptions to that general rule. There's no way for me to say whether any of them apply based on the limited facts you've been able to provide on this forum. Whether you were present during the search or not isn't likely to be much of a legal issue. But, there are a lot of potential legal issues potentially there, so again I would urge you to hire a good attorney to vet those issues and present them properly to the court.   Best of luck.
Answered on Dec 02nd, 2013 at 3:51 PM

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Criminal Law Attorney serving Rockwall, TX
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Your question raises issues to the IV Amendment, warrantless searches, case law interpretation regarding curtiledge because of your explanation that your car is on the driveway and various other issues that you will need to speak with an attorney about.  Your factual description of what occurred involves reasonable suspicion to detain you, arrest you and the scope of the search and seizure.  Further it will depend on the totality of the circumstances most probably.  You need to contact an attorney that does criminal work and who is capable of filing the proper motions prior to trial and try your case if you so choose.  I hope this helps.
Answered on Nov 05th, 2013 at 11:00 AM

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