Free the Drug Dogs!

An old friend of mine attorney Rex Curry, who was one of the first libertarians I ever met and who helped transform much of my thinking, developed a case that may be headed to the Supreme Court. Florida v. Matheson, which he won, involves a challenge to the veracity of drug dogs searches. The state of Florida is appealing and the issue is on the high court's docket.

The September 16th issue of the online journal DrugSense Weekly has an interview with Mr. Curry in which they ask him,” Given the problems with drug dogs explored at your website (see link above), why do you think they are so popular with police departments and municipal government?” He replies “Oh that is easy. You have to remember that there is a strong incentive for law enforcement not to CARE whether the dogs are accurate. The dogs can simply be props for lies, in that the dogs are there to overcome refusals to consent to search, and the dog provides law enforcement officers (LEOs) with the ability to say that an alert occurred even if there was no alert. And here is another angle: some LEOs do not want a"drug dog," they want a" car dog," in that they want a dog that when shown a car will alert, as if to say"yes that is a car." For some LEOs the goal is to search whenever the LEO desires, period. The dog is simply a ruse to do so. That is why the dogs are so popular. Do not be confused with the idea that there are"problems with drug dogs." For some LEOs those are not problems at all. And again, that is why some LEOs have no interest in maintaining records about their dogs."

Hat tip to Richard Lake.