Court: Warrant Needed For Drug-Dog Search At Apartment Door
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that a police canine's detection of drugs outside an apartment door in an unlocked building is an unlawful search.
The court ruled 4-3 Thursday that the common area outside any apartment door is a legal part of a home. Justice Thomas Kilbride's opinion determined that police need a warrant before a drug-sniffing dog can search it.
East Moline police acted on a March 2015 tip and a canine detected drugs outside the third-floor apartment's door in an unlocked Moline building.
The court previously held such a search in a locked building was unconstitutional.
Justice Bob Thomas was one of three members dissenting. He says there's no expectation of privacy in the common areas of a multi-unit building.
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