My department is researching "police" bloodhounds, specifically the use of scent evidence lineups in criminal cases. If anyone knows where I can find case law and/or citations on this topic it would be greatly appreciated. Personal opinions on this topic are welcome too.

Thank you Lisa. I am compiling as much information as I can to submit to admin. Do you mind if I use your comments?

He presented before for TDCAA. Perhaps there are some conference materials available.

You can talk to prosecutor Shelley Strimple, who is with the Bell Co DA's office. She prosecuted the case I am aware of where the use of Keith's dogs and their evidence was used in trial.

As an intern in the Fort Bend County DA's office, i got to write the appellate brief on Marcus Omar Winston v. State. 78 S.W. 3d 522. At the time, Texas had very little case law about scent hounds that were not drug dogs and as such, much of my research involved out of state case law. The Houston Court published the opinion and its holding is still good law.

P.S. Here's a shout out to John Harrity, et al who let a lowly law student learn by actually 'doing'.

Abigail
Parker County

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Originally posted by abigail:
As an intern in the Fort Bend County DA's office, i got to write the appellate brief on Marcus Omar Winston v. State. 78 S.W. 3d 522. At the time, Texas had very little case law about scent hounds that were not drug dogs and as such, much of my research involved out of state case law. The Houston Court published the opinion and its holding is still good law.

P.S. Here's a shout out to John Harrity, et al who let a lowly law student learn by actually 'doing'.

Abigail
Parker County

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That's the case Shelley tried, and Abigail carried it to the next level. That is the only case I am aware of. Are there any more?

John Harrity taught me everything I know.

Abigail, I now actually have a copy of Marcus Omar Winston v. State. 78 S.W. 3d 522. It is a very interesting read!

Greg and JB, thanks for your comments and suggestions!

Lisa, Did you work for Bill? He is a great guy!

Thanks to all of you. The comments and information you provided may just be the extra �push� needed to get our program going.

I've used Deputy Pikett in several trials. You can reach me at my e-mail address if you would like to discuss it further. Juries really like him.

May need to put your e-mail in your profile.

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Originally posted by David Newell:
John Harrity taught me everything I know.

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Did he also teach you to play guitar?

Hey Curtis,
I've used scent evidence to root out my unused bait box...I don't think it's gone thru the appellate process yet though. I'll holler when I get the smell out of the car.

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Originally posted by Greg Gilleland:

Did he also teach you to play guitar?

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I wish.

quote:

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Originally posted by A.P. Merillat:
Hey Curtis,
I've used scent evidence to root out my unused bait box...I don't think it's gone thru the appellate process yet though. I'll holler when I get the smell out of the car.

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That is such fertile ground for comment that decorum demands I simply walk away with no remark.

Thanks for preserving my so-called reputation. But why are you starting now? Is it for Lent?

How do ants know when ants die?

Still not quite sure if this was legit or an April Fools Day prank.

The story quoted below is from the Victoria Advocate. This paper has previously pulished at least one other article about these lawsuits.


[... snip ...]

News stories questioning Pikett's methods prompted former Harris County assistant district attorney Victor Wisner to call Easley. Wisner wrote an affidavit accusing Pikett and his hounds of picking out the wrong man in a lineup.

Wisner and Houston Police officers from the Westside Task Force were working on a case against a man accused in a series of burglaries. After the charges were filed, Wisner found out investigators from Houston's central burglary and theft had filed charges against another man. Those charges were based on a scent lineup by Pikett, Wisner wrote in his affidavit.

"The scent evidence was ludicrous and incriminated a person who was unrelated to the offenses," Wisner wrote. Wisner wrote an e-mail to all the prosecutors in the office, warning them that Pikett's evidence was unreliable.


[... snip ...]

My experience is that although the dog can do some cool stuff, judges are loathe to buy into it. I remain somewhat skeptical. I think the farther from the scene the dog gets, the more incredulous I become. Having said that, I have seen the dog put to good use where it helped in getting a confession.

Study: Dogs can dig through human deception

[... snip ...]

"One interesting thing is that the dogs are wiping the floor with the chimps in how often, statistically, they figure out the deception," he says.