IT REALLY HAPPENED

It's a doggone shame that Wake Superior Court Judge Evelyn Hill didn't buy
a lawyer's argument Tuesday that a drug dog's sniff cannot be the basis for
a police officer's probable cause for a drug search. Hill opted not to
suppress the half gram of cocaine that Holly Springs police found on the
ground next to Huey Holden's car during a traffic stop in July. But it was
not for lack of effort by Holden's attorney, John H. McWilliam.

The Garner lawyer argued that if the Czech German Shepherd named 'Ranger'
could not take the witness stand, the drugs could not come in as evidence.

How do the courts know the dog isn't just responding to cues from his
trainer, McWilliam asks. "This dog -- any dog -- ... is beyond the scrutiny
of cross-examination," McWilliam states in his motion.

McWilliam argues: Why are a dog's actions alone enough for probable cause
but a tip from an anonymous person requires further investigation. "Why do
we give a dog greater reliability than a human?

Bring on the dog, says Wake District Attorney Colon Willoughby. "Mr.
McWilliam is a very skilled lawyer," he said. "If anyone could
cross-examine a dog, he could do it."