Hudson v. State
Officers stopped a car in which Hudson was a passenger, radioed for a K-9 about four minutes in, and the dog sniff did not begin until ten minutes and twenty seconds after the stop; no citation was issued and the officer could not recall issuing a written warning. The Fifth DCA held the stop was improperly and unnecessarily prolonged and quashed the order denying suppression, with a concurrence emphasizing that the State bore the burden at the suppression hearing and offered no evidence of what occurred during the delay.
Key facts
- Hudson was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by officers during a traffic stop.
- Officers radioed for a K-9 unit approximately four minutes into the stop, and the dog sniff did not occur until ten minutes and twenty seconds after the initial stop; no citation was issued and no written warning was documented.
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Why it matters
This decision is a useful tool for defense counsel litigating K-9 sniff delays: it confirms that unexplained dead time between the stop and the sniff, coupled with the absence of any citation or warning, dooms the… — full analysis with a trial
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