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Dog alert on a package, without more, did not authorize entry on a controlled delivery

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officers entered and seized a package after a controlled delivery where a dog alerted to the box but it had never been opened. After a search warrant was issued for the box, it was "conspicuously devoid of narcotics, containing only sandals, two packages of underwear, two boxes of cold compresses for injuries, a figurine, a white visor, and women's shirts wrapped in a towel." The district court erred in granting summary judgment to the officers on both liability and qualified immunity for their conduct. Moreover, the officer's alternative arguments on appeal were rejected because they were never presented to the district court. Demayo v. Nugent, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 3759 (1st Cir. February 22, 2008). Comment: This is just the kind of case the Supreme Court was talking about in Malley v...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on February 24, 2008 (boomark / email).