Court Opinion

ID: 9469356
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 02:38:13.25114+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:41:20.727440
License: Public Domain

CORNELIA G. KENNEDY, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I respectfully disagree with that part of the majority’s order which holds that the tracking dog evidence was admitted with a sufficient foundation to assure its reliability-
. This is a lineup case. No foundation was laid which would allow the trial court or a reviewing court to conclude that the use of tracking dogs in lineup identifications is reliable nor was there evidence that the lineup procedure is generally accepted as reliable by either those who train and handle dogs or law enforcement agencies. Cf. United States v. Brady, 595 F.2d 359 (6th Cir. 1979). A survey of reported cases reveals no cases involving lineup identifications by dogs in situations other than canine baggage sniff lineups.
In addition, an insufficient foundation was laid with respect to Preston and Har-rass II’s training, experience and results in tracking dog lineups. It is necessary to distinguish Preston’s experience with dogs in general with his experience with Harrass II. Although the record reveals Preston’s experience with respect to actual case lineups and demonstrative-type lineups, there is no evidence that Harrass II had previous actual case lineup experience. Harrass II practiced scent discrimination an Unspecified number of times by smelling a single person and then identifying an object belonging to him from an array of other inanimate objects laying in front of him. The scent identification training described by Preston represents an identification situation that is not identical with that employed in appellant’s scent identification lineup where several persons were present.
For the above-mentioned reasons there was an insufficient foundation laid to insure the reliability of the evidence. I concur with the result reached by the majority, however, since a review of the record reveals that the inclusion of this evidence was harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of appellant’s guilt.