Florida v. Harris (2012)
- Docket
- 11-817
- Decided
- 2012-01-01
Summary
Question: Does a drug-detection dog's alert to the exterior of a vehicle provide an officer with probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of the interior of the vehicle? Conclusion: Yes. Justice Elena Kagan, writing for a unanimous court, reversed the Florida Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the lower court's rigid requirement that police officers show evidence of a dog's reliability in the field to prove probable cause. Probable cause is a flexible common sense test that takes the totality of the circumstances into account. A probable cause hearing for a dog alert should proceed like any other, allowing each side to make their best case with all evidence available. The record in this case supported the trial court's determination that police had probable cause to search Harris' car. Learn more about the Roberts Court and the Fourth Amendment in Shifting Scales , a nonpartisan Oyez resource.