The Reliability of Drug Dogs in Oregon
by: Ryan • April 5, 2011 • no comments
You'll want to make a point of coming back to this website tomorrow, when the Oregon Supreme Court will issue two opinions on the reliability of drug dogs.
The question presented in one of the cases is:
What is the standard that a trial court must apply to determine the reliability of a drug-detection dog and the dog's handler, in order to justify a warrantless search of a car, when the dog's "alert" is the sole basis for probable cause that the owner of the car is in possession of a controlled substance?
And in the other case, the questions presented are;
(1) "* * * [W]hat is the probative value of a play-reward trained canine alert when police handlers report that a play-reward trained dog will alert both to drugs that are present and the odor of drugs that are no longer present but had been present at some prior time?
(2) "What is the probative value of a play[-]reward [trained] dog's alert when the evidence reflects that a dog will alert virtually every time it is deployed?"
(3) "Which kind of canine drug detection training (1) produces reliable evidence toward establishing possession of a controlled substance within the meaning of the substantive controlled substances statute and (2) is acceptable in the scientific community?"
There is no guarantee that the opinions will answer the questions presented, though it is likely they will.
There is at least one other criminal opinion that will be issued as well.
