Opinion ID: 1882050
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Drug Dog Search

Text: Dodd briefly argues as one of her points that a dog sniff, standing alone, cannot constitute probable cause to search. Laime and Dodd argue much more extensively that Trooper Ramsey's affidavit supporting the search warrant was inadequate under Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978). They base their Franks argument on the trooper's failure to state in the affidavit that the drug dog, Moose, had already falsely alerted on one safe. They also assert that Trooper Ramsey knew that Moose had been inaccurate at least ten times and possibly as many as fifty times but did not mention this fact in the affidavit. According to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, a dog sniff that results in an alert on a container, car, or other item, standing alone, gives an officer probable cause to believe that there are drugs within the item, if the dog is reliable. United States v. Sundby, 186 F.3d 873 (8th Cir.1999); United States v. Bloomfield, 40 F.3d 910 (8th Cir.1994). See also Newton v. State, 73 Ark.App. 285, 43 S.W.3d 170 (2001). In Sundby , the Eighth Circuit stated: A dog's positive indication alone is enough to establish probable cause for the presence of a controlled substance if the dog is reliable. To establish the dog's reliability, the affidavit need only state the dog has been trained and certified to detect drugs. An affidavit need not give a detailed account of the dog's track record or education. Sundby, 186 F.3d at 876 (cases omitted). This court has never been confronted with the issue of whether a dog sniff, standing alone, provides probable cause to search. We need not reach that issue in the instant case because the dog sniff was bolstered by other facts in the trooper's affidavit. Particularly, the search warrant and affidavit referred to Laime's criminal history, his failure to honestly disclose his drug arrest and charge, his refusal to reveal details about the van's ownership, his combative demeanor, and the marijuana and drug paraphernalia that the trooper found before the warrant was obtained. We turn then to the allegation that Trooper Ramsey committed a Franks violation in this case. The Franks decision stands for the proposition that if a defendant shows by a preponderance of the evidence that (1) the affiant for a search warrant made a false statement knowingly and intelligently, or with reckless disregard of the truth, and (2) with the affidavit's false material set aside, the affidavit's remaining content is insufficient to establish probable cause, the search warrant should be invalidated. State v.. Rufus, 338 Ark. 305, 993 S.W.2d 490 (1999) (citing Pyle v. State, 314 Ark. 165, 862 S.W.2d 823 (1993)). Matters omitted must be material circumstances which contradict or dispel the incriminating factors in the affidavit and which render what is in the affidavit effectively false because of their nondisclosure. Biggers v. State, 317 Ark. 414, 878 S.W.2d 717 (1994) (citing Pyle, supra ). We need not address this point because we conclude that upon finding marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the van following the drug dog's positive alert, the troopers had reasonable cause to believe that the van contained other things subject to seizure. Under our criminal rule and case law, a search of the van could commence under these facts without a search warrant. See Ark. R.Crim. P. 14.1; Bohanan v. State, 324 Ark. 158, 919 S.W.2d 198 (1996). As a result, any asserted defect in the affidavit for a search warrant is of no moment as a warrantless search could have been performed. We affirm on this point.