Aldo, the Drug Sniffing Dog Gets Passing Grade by U.S. Supreme Court

Aldo, the drug sniffing drug used in a Florida stop alerted on a vehicle.  The police officer had asked for consent and the driver declined.  Based on the officer’s observation of an open beer can and the defendant’s nervousness, the office used his dog Aldo to do a sniff around the vehicle.  Aldo alerted and the officer proceeded to check the vehicle.  The officer found contraband but none which Aldo had been trained to detect.  In a subsequent stop of the defendant, Aldo again alerted on his vehicle.  This time the search revealed nothing.  While the Florida Supreme Court found for the Defendant on appeal based on requiring that there be some documentation available as to the dog’s hit and misses, the United States Supreme Court reversed.  So Aldo can continue to have false positives and the search will be upheld based on the facts found with Florida v. Harris.  See full opinion at: Florida v. Harris