The state of Colorado’s appeals court ruled last week that the possible presence of marijuana in a vehicle that has been detected by drug-sniffing dogs, does not allow police any authority to search the car.
According to Grand Junction Sentinel, the panel has ruled that in the case of a Craig resident, police officers need more cause to search a car without permission.
It was in 2015 that Craig police Cpl. Bryan Gonzalez pulled over Kevin McKnight in his truck for turning without signalling. During this pull over, he called for a drug-sniffing dog which found a pipe. McKnight was then convicted for possession of drug paraphernalia as well as possession of a controlled substance.
The appeals court found that because marijuana is legal in Colorado, there was not enough probably cause for a search of the vehicle.
According to Judge Daniel Dailey, who was one of the three judges on the three-judge panel, there could be legal marijuana inside a certain vehicle.
“Because Amendment 64 legalized possession for personal use of one ounce or less of marijuana by persons 21 years of age or older in Colorado, it is no longer accurate to say, at least as a matter of state law, that an alert by a dog which can detect marijuana — but not specific amounts — can reveal only the presence of ‘contraband,’” Dailey wrote.
According to Dailey, a drug-sniffing dog could “infringe upon a legitimate expectation of privacy.”
