If you are charged with a DUI of drugs, it may be because the police were able to locate drugs in your car when you were pulled over in a routine traffic stop. One way that law enforcement is able to locate drugs in a driver's car is with drug dogs. These are specially trained canines that are supposed to sniff out illegal narcotics in cars or buildings. The dogs have a heightened sense of smell, so they are able to detect illegal substances in areas where humans could not note the scent.

However, drug dogs are not always legal. In a famous case called Illinois vs. Caballes, the Supreme Court ruled that police do not need to have reasonable suspicion to use drug dogs to sniff a vehicle. This can happen at any traffic stop, as long as the police had a viable reason for pulling the individual over. Illinois vs. Caballes is a case in which the defendant was pulled over for speeding but the police officer asked for a drug dog to be brought to the scene.

The dog alerted the police that there were drugs in the car, and the man was subsequently arrested for marijuana trafficking. The Illinois Supreme Court reversed the man's conviction because they determined that the drug sniff was unreasonable without evidence of a crime other than speeding. The court held that the Fourth Amendment is not implicated when the police use a dog in a legal traffic stop, because the dogs will only discover illegal items. The court says that the dogs will not find anything of a legitimate privacy interest, and that Fourth Amendment rights therefore don't apply to dog searches.

The case authorizes police to walk a drug dog around any vehicle during a traffic stop, whether you were pulled over for an expired license, speeding, or suspected drugged driving. If the dog signals that it smells drugs, then the police have the right to conduct a search based on probable cause. However, if you are pulled over and the police officer does not have a dog with him, the officer does not have the legal right to detain you indefinitely until the force can bring the dog to the scene. The legitimacy of a dog search normally depends on the duration of the wait while the dog is delivered.

Generally speaking, if the dog can't be at the scene in the time it takes the police to check your tags and write you a ticket, then the use of the dog becomes unconstitutional because you cannot be unlawfully detained during a routine traffic stop. If you are pulled over and are waiting for a drug dog to arrive, you have the right to patiently ask the officer if you are free to do. If the office refuses to let you leave until the dogs arrive, then you have the right to refuse consent to any searches, or even to a dog sniff.

Unlocking your car or handing the officer your keys is the same as consenting to a search, so you should avoid doing this. If you refuse the searches because you were detained longer than necessary, and the police officer conducts the search anyway you may be able to challenge all evidences in court. If you want more information about dog searches, or if you want to prove that you were subjected to an unconstitutional dog search when pulled over for a DUI of drugs, then you need to talk with a local DUI attorney. Use this directory to find a trustworthy and hardworking DUI attorney near you today!