Franky my dear, I don't give a damn

He did right!

Franky likes weed!

Court to hear case of Franky the drug dog - Florida Wires - MiamiHerald.com

MIAMI — In a case closely watched by law enforcement nationwide, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether a Florida police dog's sniff outside the front door of a house with a marijuana growing operation is an illegal search.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi wants the justices to reverse a state Supreme Court decision that the K-9's sniff runs afoul of the Fourth Amendment protection against illegal search and seizure. Eighteen states and the territory of Guam have filed a brief in support of Bondi's position, concerned that other state courts might start issuing similar decisions...

...The case arose from the December 2006 arrest of Joelis Jardines at a Miami-area house where 179 marijuana plants were confiscated. Miami-Dade Police Department officers obtained a search warrant after one of their dogs, a chocolate Lab named Franky, detected the odor of pot from outside the front door.

The trial judge threw out the evidence, agreeing with Jardines' attorney that the dog's sniff was an unconstitutional intrusion into the home. An appeals court reversed that ruling, but the state Supreme Court sided in April with the original judge.

The U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled that a home is entitled to greater privacy than a car or a public place such as an airport when it comes to police use of K-9s to find illegal substances. But state of Florida lawyers and many legal experts say a dog's sniff isn't a violation because it only detects illegal activity not entitled to privacy...

Not knowing full details on the story (just what is in this article) I really can't make a full comment on this. I tend to agree a man has greater expedition of privacy in his home than out in public. However I get the impression the homeowner was a suspect before Franky showed up. If they knocked on the door and Franky went ape, as long as they didn't force their way into the house and left when he asked I see no problem with it. This is not just having a dog going to every door and sniffing if I get this right. But we'll see how Florida v. Jardines plays out.