Prepared by the Law Office
of Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr., Esq.,
as a public service.
The facts of Florida v. Jardines (2013) are simple and straight
forward. The police in Florida took a drug-sniffing canine to the front porch of
the defendant’s home to see whether the dog would make a positive hit for
drugs. The dog did, and based on the
that positive hit, the police obtained a search warrant to search the
home. In searching the home pursuant to
the warrant the police discovered marijuana plants, and the defendant was
charged with trafficking in CDS.
The evidence was
suppressed by the lower courts in Florida and affirmed by the Florida Supreme Court. The United States took certiorari and our highest court agreed that
the police had no right to bring the drug-sniffing dog on the defendant’s porch
without a warrant. That any search of a
home or its curtilage without a warrant was a violation of the Fourth Amendment
to the United States Constitution.
Following Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. 170, 180 (1984), which held that any area immediately
surrounding and associated with the house is part of the home for purposes of
Fourth Amendment protection.
If you have been arrested
as result of a search of your home, office or motor vehicle without a warrant
you must seek competent legal advice from an experienced criminal defense attorney,
to see if your fourth amendment rights have been violated and your chances of
obtaining a dismissal based on a motion to suppress the evidence illegally
seized.
Elizabeth, New
Jersey
(908) 354-7006
Criminal Defense Attorney
in New Jersey, Union County, Federal Court, Newark, Elizabeth, Jersey City, New
Brunswick, Hackensack, Morristown, Somerville, Bayonne, Union City, Clifton,
Roselle Park, Clark, Westfield, Union, Short Hills, Milburn.
Dated: December
26, 2013
Quote of the day: “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or
acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends
forth a tiny ripple of hope.” Robert Kennedy
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