What is a "Free Air Sniff" by K9s – And Is It Legal?

 Posted on May 08, 2025 in Criminal Defense

In January 2025, two people were arrested after a Lake County K9, Duke, sniffed out drugs during a traffic stop. After conducting a "free air sniff" around the vehicle’s exterior, Duke alerted to the presence of narcotics. The police searched the vehicle and found over half a kilogram of cocaine powder.

Many people have not heard of a free air sniff, but there is plenty of controversy over the practice across the United States. If you have been arrested for drug possession after a free air sniff by a K9 and a subsequent search of your vehicle or home, it is important that you take these charges very seriously. It is in your best interests to speak to a knowledgeable Will County, IL drug possession lawyer.

What the Supreme Court Says About Free Air Sniffs by K9s

While the use of drug dogs is a fairly settled issue, two 2012 cases from Florida sought to change that. Drug dogs are allowed to sniff free air so long as they are not unlawfully in the location. To this end, the dogs are allowed to sniff packages, people, luggage, and vehicles so long as the K9 keeps his or her nose from actually touching a person, vehicle, luggage, or package, meaning the K9 is sniffing "free air."   

In Florida v. Harris, a man was pulled over for an expired registration tag. He did not consent to a search of his pickup truck, so the officer brought in a K9 drug dog, who sniffed the free air around the pickup truck and alerted to the driver’s side door handle. The officers obtained a warrant and found ingredients for making methamphetamine along with 200 pseudoephedrine pills.

The Florida Supreme Court overturned the conviction, ruling the dog’s reliability had not been sufficiently demonstrated. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Florida Supreme Court, rejecting the requirement that police show evidence of a dog’s reliability in the field to prove probable cause.

In the 2012 case of Florida v. Jardines, police received an anonymous tip that an individual was growing marijuana in his home. The police took a K9 drug dog to the home’s open front door. The dog alerted, a search warrant was obtained, and the police found numerous marijuana plants and more than 24 pounds of marijuana. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the K9 drug sniff unreasonably intruded into the "sanctity" of the man’s home.  

When the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Justices appeared skeptical of the government’s claim that the sniff of a home’s exterior was not an actual search: i.e., since the dog was on the man’s property (although not inside the house), was the air actually "free?" The lower court’s ruling was upheld.

In October 2022, the Georgia Court of Appeals decided the State v. Fish case after an undercover police officer noted suspicious behavior by several suspects between a gas station building and a vehicle multiple times. The officer followed the vehicle and pulled it over when he ran the tag, and it did not match the vehicle.

The officer called for a drug dog to do a free air sniff around the car. The dog alerted, the car was searched, and a digital scale, a glass pipe with drug residue, and sandwich bags in the trunk containing 47 grams of meth were seized. The Georgia Supreme Court deemed the seizure unlawful because the traffic stop was prolonged to allow a dog to be brought in to sniff the car.

Contact a Will County, IL Drug Possession Lawyer

The biggest issue with a vehicle free sniff is not usually a dog issue, it is the length of detainment. Most courts only allow 15 minutes to conduct the normal business of a traffic stop; longer detention must be supported by consent or reasonable suspicion. If you are facing drug possession charges and feel you had an unlawful K9 free air sniff, contact a Will County, IL drug possession attorney from Law Offices of Jack L. Zaremba, P.C. by calling 815-740-4025 to schedule your free consultation.