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My Opinon on Florida v. Jardines

November 4th, 2012

Florida v. Jardines presents the case of a man named Joelis Jardines arguing that his Fourth Amendments rights are being violated. My opinion on this case is that Mr. Jardines rights are being violated and I think the evidence is not to be use to convict him. The Fourth Amendment states “The right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures…” Part of being secure in your house is being secure on your own property. Police were suspicious of Jardines and brought a drug sniffing dog named Franky onto his porch and who then signaled that there were drugs inside the house, so they then applied for a search warrant. The drugs were seized, and Jardines was arrested as an outcome from the drug sniffing test. I believe that the evidence of the drugs was obtained in violation of the Constitution. Jardine’s porch is part of his home and the police had no right to go up there with a drug sniffing dog without obtaining a search warrant. I think the drug sniffing dog should not be allowed to sniff any part of the property without obtaining a search warrant. I think that in order to conduct a sniff test outside or inside of one’s home you should have a search warrant. Kyllo v. United States is also the same way they ordered the search warrant after getting evidence against Fourth Amendment rights. I think that the only way to do a drug sniff or a heat lamp on somebody’s property is through a search warrant. As a different opinion on this matter looking back to the United States v. Place case I would say that one is constitutional. I think the difference between the two cases is the United States v. Place was a suitcase that was in an airport which is a public place. I believe that the drug sniff test should be used in the air port because it’s looking out for the safety of the public. I would also agree to the Illinois v. Caballes case being constitutional. I believe that this case is constitutional because it was on the road which is also a public place and it is also looking out for the safety of the public.