Q: If the cops bring a dog to sniff your car, is that probable cause for them to go in the car?
I was arrested for pills I wasn’t in my vehicle. But they took my car I went to jail got released and 3weeks later they put a warrant out for my arrest. But I still go to probation. And when I called the public defender office to get information on the warrant but they said it’s not in the system. But my probation officer gave me the case number and I typed it in on the municipal website the warrant pop up. So when I called municipal court they said they don’t see any warrants but I gave them one of the case number & they said call superior court. So I gave them the other case numbers & that case didn’t pop up. So I called back superior & they said it’s nothing in their system. So what could I do?
A: Yes in general the positive sniff by the dog would give them probable cause to search your vehicle, but everything is fact dependent and your lawyer would need to review the discovery to give you a certain answer so speak with and hire a lawyer if you are charged or think you will be charged. Based on what you said it sounds likely that you have already been charged but maybe the paperwork is somewhere lost in between the police/prosecutors or court office. I would use this time to properly prepare your defense.
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