Dog Alert Sufficiently Reliable Despite Dog's Health Issues

US v. Bertram, 2009 WL 74477 (10th Cir. 1/13/2009) unpublished: Defendant's convictions for felon in possession of a firearm are affirmed. The guns were found after a dog alerted to the car during a traffic stop. Read this case if you have a dog alert issue.

Defendant contended there was no probable cause because the dog (named Taz) was unreliable and the officers knew it. The record showed that Taz had a degenerative health condition which resulted in his being put to sleep just a few months after the alert at issue. However, the magistrate judge had denied the motion to suppress based on the dog's record in the field and its certification. Interestingly, somehow the attorney managed to obtain disclosure of the dog's record of false alerts. Along the way, the court affirms that a dog with a success rate of 70% meets the probable cause standard.

The Tenth gives short shrift to Mr. Bertram's objection to the admission of certain records from the BOP, which he claimed included uncertified and therefor not self-authenticating records from Texas. The court says the admission was likely ok, but decides to rule on the basis that any error was harmless because defendant admitted he was a felon at the trial.