NCJ Number
129794
Journal
Crime to Court Dated: (February 1991) Pages: 5-8
Date Published
1991
Length
4 pages
Annotation
In the case of United States v. Dunkley, the appellate court held that a vehicle search, without warrant or probable cause, is proper under the fourth amendment when preceded by valid consent and that the defendant Brown voluntarily agreed to a search of the vehicle.
Abstract
The defendants argued that the illegibility of the expiration date on the vehicle's temporary tag was not the true motive for the vehicle stop, because the police officer was patrolling the highway accompanied by a drug-sniffing dog. However, the court supported the officer's testimony that he stopped most vehicles with unreadable tags. The court also held that the driver had the authority to consent, because his wife had given him permission to drive the car she had rented. In addition, the toy rabbit containing cocaine was located in the open on the back seat of the automobile and was detected by the drug-sniffing dog during the police officer's legitimate search of the vehicle. Thus, the court ruled that the cocaine found in the rabbit could not be suppressed as evidence.