United States v. Gutierrez, No. 14-1159 (7th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseBased on a tip that Gutierrez was involved in drug trafficking, officers went to his home with a certified narcotics canine and knocked at the front door. They saw movement inside, but no one answered the door. The officers had the dog examine the door for the scent of narcotics, and he alerted. After knocking for 15 minutes, the officers forcibly entered and secured the home, but did not search. An officer swore out an affidavit, relying on the dog’s positive alert, and returned with a search warrant. The ensuing search revealed 11 pounds of methamphetamine in Gutierrez’s home. A few months later, the Supreme Court held that the use of a drug-sniffing dog on an individual’s porch is a Fourth Amendment search. Gutierrez pleaded guilty, reserving the right to appeal the denial of his suppression motion. The court sentenced him to the mandatory minimum, 120 months’ imprisonment. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, holding that under the 2011 Supreme Court decision, Davis v. United States, the evidence should not be suppressed if “binding appellate precedent specifically authorize[d]” the officers’ conduct at the time they acted. Seventh Circuit precedent did authorize the officers’ conduct.
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