Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Kentucky

I was driving my girlfriends truck in a "bad" area of town. Not using a turn signal, was pulled over blocks later. The officer did routine 'license, insurance', (all good) except I didn't have my license on me. I gave my SS# and everything's good. He requested consent to search the vehicle and I said no. He demanded me out, I complied. He patted me down, found nothing. This angered him, he called for K9 unit. The dog was brought to the truck, K9 officer threw a ball off truck window, dog caught it. K9 officer stated, "See what he did? There's dope in there!" I insisted there wasn't. Due to the dogs "alert", he told me he had probable cause to search. After they found girlfriends shotgun (which I had no knowledge of), promptly arrested me. No bail reduction, incarcerated 60 days later, Grand-jury dismissed everything. Isn't this a civil violation of my 4th Amendment right?


Asked on 6/15/11, 4:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Andrea Welker Welker Law Office

The fact pattern here is a prime example of NOT having probable cause to search a vehicle (nor did the officer have any grounds to order you out of the vehicle), and had you been indicted, the evidence (i.e. the shotgun) should have been suppressed as "fruit of a poisonous tree" (of course, that's if you can dispute the testimony of the police officers who will testify that the K9 unit indicated drugs were in your vehicle). If you can find a local attorney interested in filing a lawsuit against the police department, you might have a case, but likely the police officers will simply state that the K9 unit indicated there were drugs inside the vehicle and it's your word against all of theirs. (Guess who wins?)

In the future: Don't be in "bad" areas of town driving, particularly if you happen to be a minority or if you happen to have any sort of criminal record (they have laptops in their squad cars that can run your plate and pull up your criminal history). Also, if your phone has a video or audio recording feature, use it when you get pulled over. It just might save you 60 days in jail next time.

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Answered on 6/18/11, 2:07 pm


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