• Home
  • News
    • Politics / Govt
    • Legislature
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
    • Archives
  • Sports
    • Badgers
    • Packers
      • Titletown Report
    • Brewers
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support

Wisconsin Radio Network

Wisconsin News and Sports

You are here: Home / Crime / Courts / SCOWIS okays dog sniff search

SCOWIS okays dog sniff search

July 9, 2008 By WRN Contributor

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that when a police dog sniffs the exterior of a vehicle, it is not an illegal search under the Fourth Amendment. The 4-3 ruling upholds the 2005 arrest of Ramon Arias of Colby. According to the ruling, a Colby-Abbotsford police officer stopped a car driven by an underage girl, after witnessing Arias put liquor into. A police dog sniffed around the car, and the officer then searched the vehicle. He found a switchblade on Arias, along with a bag of what appeared to be cocaine. Based on that, Arias was charged with illegal possession of a switch-blade knife, and possessing cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school zone. But at a preliminary hearing, a Clark County judge threw out the knife-and-drug evidence, saying the dog's discovery amounted to an illegal search. The state appealed, and the Supreme Court sided with the police. The court's three liberal Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson dissented along with Justices Louis Butler and Ann Walsh Bradley. But Justice Pat Roggensack said the U-S Supreme Court had already ruled that a police dog sniffing a vehicle's exterior did not constitute an official search.

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen applauded the decision . "This is an excellent decision for Wisconsin law enforcement in fighting drug trafficking in our state," said Van Hollen. "Dogs have been a valuable, efficient, and safe tool in detecting narcotics, and this holding allows their reasonable use to continue."

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Crime / Courts



Featured Stories

Brewers to open season with fans

Report: Former Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. to sign with Brewers

Seven Badgers honored by the WCHA

Panthers rally to upset Wright State in Horizon League quarterfinals

Jokic leads Denver in rout of the Bucks

TwitterFacebook

Sports Headlines

Big Ten Men’s & Women’s basketball Tournaments to Allow Limited Fan Attendance

Brewers to open season with fans

Report: Former Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. to sign with Brewers

Seven Badgers honored by the WCHA

Panthers rally to upset Wright State in Horizon League quarterfinals

More Sports

Tweets by @WRN

Get our news delivered to your inbox:

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Copyright © 2021 · Learfield News & Ag, LLC