Dennys Rodrigues, Petitioner V. United States

Shadrack Babwiriza Case Brief Writing Assignment
Martin. J Littlefield Criminal Law
10/27/15 Buffalo State College

I.
Dennys Rodrigues, Petitioner v. United States
II.
135 S. Ct. 1609; 191 L. Ed. 2d 492
III.
On March 27, 2012 police officer Morgan Stubble watched Dennys Rodrigues commit a traffic violation. The officer pulled over Rodrigues and proceed to issue a traffic warning. The officer then asked Rodrigues if he can walk his dog around the vehicle. The dog alerted the officer of contraband

He also suggests that the case should go back to the lower courts because the issue was not properly addressed.
In Justice Thomas dissenting opinion of which Justice Alito joined and Justice Kennedy joins to all but part three, Justice Thomas argues that the officer possessed reasonable suspicion to hold the driver to conduct the dog sniff. Justice Thomas also states that a dog sniff that is lawful in the beginning including a dog sniff does not violate the fourth Amendment. Justice Thomas believes that the officer stopped the drivers’ vehicle under probable cause and while interacting with the occupants the officers’ reasonable suspicion was used in order to conduct the dog sniff.
Justice Alito dissenting of the Majorities opinion is due to the fact that the court’s decision was not primary focusing on the issue that was being discussed by the case. He believes that the court did not answer the important fourth amendment issue about reasonable suspicion being an important factor in a traffic stop. He claims that the focus was on the dog sniff and whether the officer completed the traffic stop after he issued the driver a warning