Rodriguez v. United States, 575 U.S. 348 (2015), was a United States Supreme Court case which analyzed whether police officers may extend the length of a traffic stop to conduct a search with a trained detection dog. In a 6–3 opinion, the Court held that officers may not extend the length of a traffic stop to conduct a dog sniff unrelated to the original purpose of the stop. However, the Court remanded the case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to determine whether the officer's extension of the traffic stop was independently justified by reasonable suspicion. Some analysts have suggested that the Court's decision to limit police authority was influenced by ongoing protests in Ferguson, Missouri.
Dennys Rodriguez was arrested on a highway near Waterloo, Nebraska (pictured).
In her majority opinion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (pictured) held that "a dog sniff is not fairly characterized as part of the officer’s traffic mission".
Florida v. Jardines, 569 U.S. 1 (2013), was a United States Supreme Court case which resulted in the decision that police use of a trained detection dog to sniff for narcotics on the front porch of a private home is a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and therefore, without consent, requires both probable cause and a search warrant.
Police dog
Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the majority opinion, joined by Justices Kagan, Thomas, Ginsburg and Sotomayor.
Justice Elena Kagan concurred, joined by Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor.
Justice Samuel Alito dissented, joined by Roberts, Kennedy and Breyer.