The U.S. Supreme Court has set the stage for the court’s first major police canine decisions in seven years by agreeing to hear two Florida cases. The court granted the petitions of the state of Florida in Florida v. Jardines , Docket No. 11-564, and Florida v. Harris , Docket No. 11-817. Both cases are set for argument in the 2012 October term.
In Jardines , the court will consider whether probable cause is needed to conduct a front-door sniff. And in Harris , the court will consider whether, to establish probable cause for a vehicle search following a dog’s alert, the prosecution must present complete field records for the dog not just its training and certification records.
