4/27/06 - Drug Dog Alert Not Adequate for Search, Lawyer Argues

7/6/06 - CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT RULES CHP CAN ACT ON ANONYMOUS TIPS

The California Supreme Court has ruled police officers can pull over a car based on an anonymous tip that the driver is driving erratically. The case is People v. Wells

7/3/06 - CA SUPREME COURT APPROVES SEARCH OF PASSENGER IN STOPPED VEHICLE
Passengers of a vehicle pulled over in a police traffic stop are not "seized" for Fourth Amendment purposes, the California Supreme Court ruled yesterday, reversing an earlier appeals court ruling. In denying the motion to suppress evidence found on a passenger, Sutter Superior Court Judge Christopher R. Chandler held that the passenger was seized not at the point of the traffic stop but rather when police commanded out of the car and placed him under arrest. Until then, Chandler reasoned, the passender "was free to leave...if he wanted to." Several justices writing a dissent noted that eight federal circuit courts of appeal and 21 state's appellate courts have adopted the view that passengers are detained during traffic stops. The case is People v. Brendlin, 06 S.O.S. 3354. Read more; also see companion case Sanders, allowing officers to order a traffic stop when the vehicleÕs front license plate is missing and the registration tabs on the rear license plate have expired but the vehicleÕs rear window displays what appears to be a current temporary operating permit.

9/16/05--- Sniffing Out The Truth About Drug Dogs: An Interview With Rex Curry

2/1/05 --- Mendocino County Adds Two K-9s, purchased with private donations and forfeiture funds. They will go on duty at the end of February, after a (publicly funded) training period.

New Driving Laws Take Effect in 2005. Also see California 2005 Driver Handbook

11/17/04 ---- New DMV Chief Backs Auto Tracking Devices; if you don't like the idea, write to the Governor.

1/04/04 ---- Does the Nose Know: How Accurate Are Detection Dogs?