Page 147 - Original 2020 Legal Guide By Jack Ryan

Task: Canine Search of a Vehicle

U.S. v. Place, 462 U.S. 696 (1983).

A dog’s free-air sniff of an inanimate object does not constitute a

search for 4 Amendment purposes.
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• When a properly trained canine alerts while free-air sniffing an
inanimate object, officers then have probable cause to believe the

inanimate object contains contraband and may proceed to search
the vehicle based on the motor vehicle exception to the warrant

requirement.

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