The question of whether the officer had reasonable suspicion here seems to be in dispute. The lower courts found there was no reasonable suspicion, and the majority assumed that in their response.
Alito and Thomas' dissents cite some fairly compelling evidence that the officer did have reasonable suspicion: the vehicle occupants looked nervous, the officer smelled the overwhelming scent of air freshener (often used to mask drugs), and their story didn't make much sense.
The dissents are a really good read: I'm against the drug war full stop but had to admit that within our current legal framework, this decision doesn't make much sense.
>Alito and Thomas' dissents cite some fairly compelling evidence that the officer did have reasonable suspicion: the vehicle occupants looked nervous, the officer smelled the overwhelming scent of air freshener (often used to mask drugs), and their story didn't make much sense.
when i was stopped by police (2 times during 15 years in US - for non-attached sticker and for allegedly "not obeying traffic control device") i was so nervous that my speech was pretty slurred and hands were shaking even like 10 minutes after the encounter, my story at least in the second case hardly made any sense - was driving home after hiking for several hours in the hills during July heatwave weekend and wasn't sure what sign the police was talking about... I guess i was saved by not-using air-freshener in my car - i guess nobody uses the smell of extremely sweaty dusty 40 year old male for masking the drugs. Thanks, God!
Yeah, this happened to me around a decade ago - same reason for stop, actually, tag holder was busted, and ended up pulled over at 2AM. Nervous voice, endorphin shakes, couldn't even figure out which bit of paper was the registration at first. Nothing to actually hide, just fear.
Maybe having a crippling phobia of police stops is counterproductive, but it seems entirely warranted on the basis of what they're allowed and instructed to do. Spiders, snakes, public speaking, and flying are a hell of a lot safer than interacting with a police officer (one you're not related to) in any capacity at this stage of their militarization. And that's if your skin is the right color.
"As Struble later testified, at that
point, Rodriguez and Pollman “had all their documents
back and a copy of the written warning. I got all the
reason[s] for the stop out of the way[,] . . . took care of all the business".
Struble asked
for permission to walk his dog around Rodriguez’s vehicle.
Rodriguez said no. Struble then instructed Rodriguez to
turn off the ignition, exit the vehicle, and stand in front of
the patrol car to wait for the second officer.
If the officer had reasonable suspicion to do a dog sniff, then he would not have needed to ask for permission. And the courts have generally concluded that refusing a voluntary search isn't evidence that a crime has been committed.
So the conclusion that the dog search was based on a reasonable suspicion is not backed up by the officer's testimony, or by the officers actions.
> If the officer had reasonable suspicion to do a dog sniff, then he would not have needed to ask for permission.
An officer may seek permission for a search that he doesn't require permission; if nothing else, consent secures the evidence produced by a search from exclusion by a court that disagrees with the officer's own view of whether he had the requisite basis for making the search.
That's certainly true. However, that's only part of the equation, as the courts generally look at the totality of the circumstances, which include the officer's testimony (as I mentioned above)
See page 9 of the ruling: the Court did not rule on reasonable suspicion in this case, and Ginsberg tells it like it is regarding the dissenters' focus.
IANAL, but I think the gov't might be able to appeal right back up to SCOTUS on that issue if they think they can win, and it sounds like they could.
Alito and Thomas' dissents cite some fairly compelling evidence that the officer did have reasonable suspicion: the vehicle occupants looked nervous, the officer smelled the overwhelming scent of air freshener (often used to mask drugs), and their story didn't make much sense.
The dissents are a really good read: I'm against the drug war full stop but had to admit that within our current legal framework, this decision doesn't make much sense.