Page:Jackson v. State, 2013 Ark. 201, 427 S.W.3d 607.pdf/10

 a decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in United States v. Sundby, 186 F.3d 873 (8th Cir. 1999). There, the appeals court held as follows:

"A dog's positive indication alone is enough to establish probable cause for the presence of a controlled substance if the dog is reliable. To establish the dog's reliability, the affidavit need only state the dog has been trained and certified to detect drugs. An affidavit need not give a detailed account of the dog's track record or education."

Id. at 876 (citations omitted). Notably, there was no challenge to the canine's reliability in either Thompson or Sundby.

Since those cases, however, the United States Supreme Court has addressed the issue of a drug-dog's reliability in a case challenging whether a drug-dog's alert provided sufficient probable cause to conduct a search of the respondent's vehicle. In Florida v. Harris, ___ U.S. ___, 133 S. Ct. 1050 (2013), a unanimous Court held that where training records established the canine's reliability in detecting drugs, and the respondent failed to undermine that showing, the trial court correctly ruled that an officer had probable cause to search the respondent's vehicle. In so ruling, the Supreme Court took issue with the Florida Supreme Court's ruling that "created a strict evidentiary checklist, whose every item the State must tick off" in direct contravention to the established standard of considering probable cause under the totality of the circumstances. Id. at ___, 133 S. Ct. at 1056 (footnote omitted). The Court reasoned:

[E]vidence of a dog's satisfactory performance in a certification or training program can itself provide sufficient reason to trust his alert. If a bona fide organization has certified a dog after testing his reliability in a controlled setting, a court can presume (subject to any conflicting evidence offered) that the dog's alert provides probable cause to search. The same is true, even in the absence of formal certification, if the dog has recently and successfully completed a training program that evaluated his proficiency in locating drugs. After all, law enforcement units have their own strong incentive to