On Politics

Tue Sep 5 2023

Marina Pitofsky | NOW reporter

Hi OnPolitics readers. A dog prompted a legal battle so complicated it has reached the Supreme Court. Yes, really.

🚨 The problem for Nero the police dog began when he put his paws on the door of a car that had been pulled over after the driver suddenly swerved across three lanes, USA TODAY's John Fritze reported.

By all accounts, the Belgian Malinois did his job, sniffing out a pill bottle and a plastic bag that contained meth residue – evidence that ultimately allowed police in Idaho to get a warrant and charge the driver, Kirby Dorff, with felony drug possession.

⚖️ But the paws Nero placed on the driver side door as he jumped up to get a better sniff have opened a constitutional question that has now made its way to the Supreme Court : Did the dog's mere touching of the car violate the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on "unreasonable searches"?

Idaho's top court concluded in March that Nero's exuberance amounted to a warrantless search, and so it tossed Dorff's conviction. But the case is one of several to arrive at the Supreme Court this year testing the power of law enforcement under the Fourth Amendment when they approach vehicles.

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McConnell didn't have a stroke as he froze, struggled to speak, doctor says

Robbin Taylor, State Director to U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., joins McConnell while he speaks at the NKY Chamber of Commerce at the Madison Event Center, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in Covington, Ky. McConnell appeared to briefly freeze up and was unable to answer a question from a reporter during the event on Wednesday, weeks after he had a similar episode in Washington.

A doctor said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn't have a seizure disorder, and he didn't have a stroke as he struggled to speak last month.

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