COURT ALLOWS USE OF DRUG DOGS IN TRAFFIC STOPS

Previous Ruling Said Privacy Rights Violated By Unreasonable Search

SPRINGFIELD - In a narrow decision, the Illinois Supreme Court
reversed itself Thursday and ruled that police can use drug-sniffing
dogs to search vehicles during routine traffic stops.

By a 4-3 vote, the court decided that the drug trafficking arrest of
a driver stopped in 1998 for speeding on Interstate 80 in LaSalle
County did not violate his constitutional rights. The man was charged
with the drug offense after a police canine detected marijuana in his
car while an officer was writing the traffic ticket.

Knox County State's Attorney Paul Mangieri said this morning that he
was pleased with the ruling.

"Quite frankly, I do believe 98 percent of people out there would
recognize that just simply having a dog, during a traffic stop,
walking around the exterior of their car, is a minimal intrusion,
based upon the law enforcement rewards it can reap," Mangieri said.

In 2003, the state Supreme Court had ruled that Roy Caballes' rights
of privacy and protection from an unreasonable search had been
violated and overturned his conviction. But in January 2005, the U.S.
Supreme Court vacated that ruling and sent his case back to the state
court for another hearing.

Asked if he is surprised this case has bounced back and forth in the
high courts, Mangieri admitted he is.

"It's in a public setting. ... This is not in your home. You have
been stopped for a proper law enforcement purpose. We're not talking
about road blocks, we're not talking about forced stops where the
individual has not committed a violation," he said.

Mangieri said if a motorist has been stopped for speeding, having a
burned out headlight or taillight, he does not see this as a problem.

"I don't fully appreciate the objection at that point of the minimal
intrusion, if you call it that," he said.

Mangieri added one caveat, however.

"As long as it is done in the time it takes to write a ticket, I
don't have a problem with it," Mangieri said.

However, if the ticket is written, then the motorist is told he or
she will have to remain at the scene for 45 minutes because a police
dog has to be brought in from another location, Mangieri feels a line
has been crossed.

"I don't like that," he said.

Knox County Public Defender Jim Harrell doesn't like the ruling,
period, based upon what he has heard of it. He said he has not had
the chance to read the ruling yet.

"I don't think they should be able to do the search unless there is a
reasonable suspicion of a crime," Harrell said. "But when someone is
pulled over for a normal ticket, such as speeding or DUI, the only
reason a dog should be called in is if there is suspicion."

Harrell said that could be an officer smelling marijuana smoke or
seeing drugs in plain sight.

Harrell also is concerned about the chances for racial profiling or
people being pulled over and the dog called in simply because someone
is driving an older model car or lives in what is considered to be a
bad part of town.

"I guess it's touching on a dangerous area," he said, "that being
infringing on personal liberties of each individual. Does that
officer have the right to strip search the person or tow the vehicle?
So my concern is what will the next step be."

Harrell also discussed the situation where the dog is present and
walks around the car while the ticket is being written.

"The state may say if there's nothing to hide, why would someone have
a problem with that. But if you have done nothing wrong, why should
you be subjected to a search?" Harrell said.

An Illinois State Police trooper had stopped Caballes, who then lived
in Las Vegas, for driving 6 miles per hour over the speed limit. When
the trooper radioed a dispatcher, an officer with a drug dog
overheard the transmission and drove to the site. While the speeding
citation was being written, the canine sniffed Caballes' car and
alerted the officers. They found 280 pounds of the illegal substance
in the trunk.

Caballes was convicted in 1999 and sentenced to 12 years in prison
and fined $256,136, the reported street value of the marijuana.

In appealing the verdict, Caballes' attorney, Ralph Meczyk of
Chicago, argued the search was illegal because officers had no cause
to look for drugs during a routine traffic stop. Meczyk also worried
that the ultimate decision could have a broad effect on how far
police could go in conducting searches.

The Illinois State Bar Association, the Office of the Cook County
Public Defender and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois
filed briefs with the court supporting Meczyk's arguments.

Thursday's majority opinion, written by Justice Rita Garman, said the
"defendant's concerns about 'widespread' abuse of the use of police
canine units and 'overwhelming numbers' of innocent subjects are pure
speculation."

Meczyk said Thursday he is looking at other possible legal options,
although he couldn't say what they might be.

"I'm still parsing through the opinion," he said. "I don't know where
I'm going from here, but I am exploring other avenues."

Illinois Solicitor General Gary Feinerman, who had argued the
prosecution's case before the Illinois Supreme Court, responded
Thursday: "He already lost under the federal Constitution, and this
is the state Constitution. I don't know where he could go."

When the case returned to the state court after the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled Caballes' federal rights had not been violated, Meczyk
had argued that Caballes was protected by the Illinois Constitution.

In Thursday's reversal of its earlier decision, the state court said
the Illinois Constitution's protections against illegal searches were
"in lockstep" with those in the federal document, forcing the ruling
against Caballes the second time around. Three of the seven justices dissented.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan argued the case before the
U.S. Supreme Court. Feinerman, who was appointed by Madigan, said
Thursday that the attorney general's office is pleased with the
decision because "drug-detecting dogs are a valuable means of
interdicting narcotics before they reach our cities, towns and neighborhoods."
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Dana Heupel of Copley News Service contributed to this story.