And then the cop calls for the drug dog, and suddenly, you're dealing with a dog trained to please it's handler, which in this case means telling the cop that you have drugs in your car. And off to jail you go. As far as the cop is concerned, his thuggish behavior is now vindicated because you're a drug dealing degenerate.
Alternatively, the cop uses a bunch of highly sensitive field drug tests on your car and gets a false positive. In america it seems that's enough to jail people. And then they lose their jobs, their home.
And the SCOTUS has already ruled that a cop cannot make you wait for a drug dog without probable cause (Rodriguez v. United States 2015). So in your scenario you've got a cop who is willing to break the law, and in that case all bets are off.
SCOTUS has made many rulings that cops both know and regularly ignore. There's hundreds of videos online of police threatening a camera person with arrest if they don't provide ID and then blinding or obstructing the camera. All three of those have been explicitly ruled on and leave no question, yet they continue to do it en masse.
“I smell marijuana” is probable cause… it’s been weakened recently, but probable cause doesn’t have to be proven. “Bloodshot eyes” is another one that works for DUI cause.
> You’re not going to jail unless you have drugs in the car
No, you aren't going to jail unless the search “justified” by the drug-dog “hit” reveals something that the police can spin into probable cause of a crime.
The usual full expression is something like “probable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a particular crime”.
> "Probable cause" can be used to justify a search.
“Probable cause” is a constitutional requirement for search warrants, arrest warrants, warrantless arrests, and warrantless searches; for searches, the probable cause is that the search conducted will uncover evidence of a crime, which is different than the probable cause for arrest.
> You would need to actually be suspected of a crime.
Well, no, there needs to be probable cause to believe you've committed a crime. Actual suspicion is a much lower standard.
> If the cops don't find drugs, what crime are you guilty of?
There are...like thousands of other crimes, and millions of possible configurations of things that are not drugs that could support probable cause to believe you've committed one of them. Spray paint cans consistent with a recent spate of vandalism (graffiti) in the area is one I’ve personally seen used, beyond things that are inherently actual or apparent contraband, and the “actual or apparent contraband” category extends to more than just drugs.
In america you can be hauled in and convicted of nothing more than "resisting arrest", with no other prior crime or suspected crime. If a cop tries to arrest you and you do ANYTHING other than comply, that's a crime
> Yes, but without evidence you aren’t going to jail, and if you do you can sue for wrongful arrest.
You can sue anyone, anytime, for anything, but even if charges aren't filed or a court dismisses them at the preliminary hearing stage for lack of sufficient evidence, wrongful arrest suits against police are very difficult.
> "Probable cause" relates to searching or entering private property.
It also relates to arrest. The Fourth Amendment provision applying the standard explicitly applies to searches and seizures of persons, houses, and effects. Arrest is seizure of one’s person.
There's plenty of DUI arrests where no drugs are present, the driver blows 0.00 on the breathalyzer, and the only "probable cause" for arrest is an officer's subjective "expert" opinion.
People have been arrested because the police claimed that a standard dose of Tylenol the night before was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If a police officer wants to take you to jail you're going to jail.
There was a guy I read about recently who was arrested and jailed on suspicion of methamphetamine possession for Krispy Kreme donut sugar found in the floorboard of his car. He was released once the lab determined it wasn't meth, but he did go to jail.
And then the cop calls for the drug dog, and suddenly, you're dealing with a dog trained to please it's handler, which in this case means telling the cop that you have drugs in your car. And off to jail you go. As far as the cop is concerned, his thuggish behavior is now vindicated because you're a drug dealing degenerate.