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Amicus Brief for Jardines in Florida v. Jardines

November 4th, 2012

The decision inĀ Florida v. JardinesĀ will have a great impact on the lives of American citizens, the way the police do their jobs, and the Constitution of the United States itself. If the Court finds in favor of Florida, every citizen in the United States will lose a part of their right to privacy, as given to them in the Fourth Amendment. If the Court finds that the police can bring a drug dog to any person’s house without probable cause or a search warrant, what will stop houses from being investigated on no more than a suspicion? Citizens will lose their right to privacy, for no more a reason than their neighbor believing that there are illegal narcotics in their house. In the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America gives people the right “to be secure in their…houses…against unreasonable searches”. That means if the Court rules in favor of Florida, if any person has a suspicion that another person is in possession of illegal drugs, they can call the police and the police can then bring a drug dog out to investigate on no basis except for the person’s suspicion. The Fourth Amendment specifically says that “no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause”. A suspicion does not warrant probable cause. Because that is so, the police should require a warrant to bring a drug dog to investigate a person’s home, and the Court should find in favor of Jardines.