Court curbs drug dog use

SALEM, Ore. (AP) The Oregon Supreme Court added another barrier
today to police use of drugsniffing dogs, ruling that detaining a car
while waiting for a dog to arrive was an unconstitutional seizure.

The court's 51 decision in a Marion County case upheld lower court
pretrial rulings that illegal drugs found in a car driven by Rogelio
JuarezGodinez cannot be used as evidence.

The Oregon Court of Appeals has ruled that using drugsniffing dogs
without obtaining search warrants generally is illegal.

But the Supreme Court broke new ground by saying that detaining
someone's property such as an auto without a search warrant while
waiting for a search dog is an illegal seizure under the Oregon
Constitution.

A state policeman in 1992 stopped a car driven by JuarezGodinez for
violating the speed limit. The driver had no operator's license, an
the officer discovered that the registered owner was on probation for
a drug offense.

When JuarezGodinez refused to allow a search of the auto, the officer
called for another officer and a dog. The driver and two passengers
waited about 30 minutes for the dog to arrive. It detected a drug odor
on the car, and heroin, cocaine and marijuana were found.

The Supreme Court said the officer's actions conveyed that the car was
being detained at a time when there was no search warrant issued for
it. Because the seizure was invalid, evidence gathered because of it
can't be used in the case.