United States v. Larry Bentley, Jr.

WOOD, Chief Judge.

A great many police departments rely on trained dogs to detect hidden drugs (or other substances, including explosives, blood, and human remains). Nagging questions remain, however, about the accuracy of the dog’s performance, especially when a dog’s alert provides the sole basis for a finding of probable cause to search or arrest someone.

In Larry Bentley’s case, a police officer initiated a traffic stop after observing Bentley’s vehicle cross into another lane on an Illinois highway without signaling. After stopping Bentley, the officer decided to call for a drug-detection…