Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Canine Search of Package in Transit Violated Privacy Interest under State Constitution

The use of a canine to sniff a package in transit violated the recipient’s privacy interest because he had a property right in the package protected under the state’s constitution

State v. Barnthouse, 2016 BL 334731, Or., No. SC S063426, 10/6/16

The Oregon Supreme Court found that the interception of a package by police to perform a dog sniff violated a recipient’s privacy interest because he was guaranteed a property interest in the package, even while in transit. The court found that under the state constitution, a citizen has a protected possessory interest in the package through the “stream of mail.” The package that was sent was discovered by police during an examination of suspicious packages with drug canines at the airport. After drugs were discovered in the package, the police went to the owner of the package to ask him to open it, allowing officers to discover illegally shipped marijuana and money.

Several federal circuits and courts have allowed officers to subject a package to a quick canine sniff, but only as long as it did not interfere with the package or its timely delivery. Additionally, police could not remove it from the delivery service or carrier’s custody for extended periods. These courts reasoned that the Fourth Amendment was not implicated as long as the package was not overly aggressive. The Oregon Supreme Court, however, went one step further and found the state constitution to protect the property interests in the package at each stage of delivery.
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https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/State_v_Barnthouse_No_SC_S063426_2016_BL_334731_Or_Oct_06_2016_Co?1476818368

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