Texas v. Rendon (original by judge alcala)
Annotate this CaseIn 2012, law-enforcement officers in Victoria were investigating appellee Michael Rendon on suspicion of drug activity. One day, several officers and a trained drug-detection dog went to the apartment complex where appellee lived. The issue this appeal presented for the Court of Criminal Appeals centered on whether it constituted a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment for law enforcement to bring the drug-detection dog directly to appellee's front door for the purpose of conducting a narcotics sniff. The Court concluded that the officers' use of the dog sniff resulted in a physical intrusion into the curtilage that exceeded the scope of any express or implied license, thereby constituting a warrantless, unconstitutional search. The Court affirmed the court of appeals and trial court's rulings granting appellee's motions to suppress.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.