Traffic stop and the police use a dog to search your car.

You get stopped by the police they ask permission to search your car and you say no. They detain you and bring a dog to search your car. The police state that the dog has found something and they search your vehicle and find contraband. Is the search legal? Is the contraband they found admissible?

That depends, in every case we have had regarding the establishing of probable cause for search and seizure the police have not been able to show a reliable history in the dog’s performance. The police are not allowed to detain you for longer than it takes to conduct the traffic stop so making you wait while they transport a search dog to the location is no longer allowed.
We have been successful at showing the ineffectiveness of the police dog to find unknown substances without the officer causing the dog to alert. Chances are the search will not hold up in court.

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