The People of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellant v. Heather L. Esparza, Defendant-Appellee

Summary

The court held that a trained narcotics-detection dog's sniff of the exterior of a lawfully parked vehicle is not itself a search under the Colorado Constitution because it reveals only the presence or absence of contraband, in which there is no legitimate privacy interest. Because the sniffs were not the fruit of an unlawful detention or search, the suppression order was reversed and the case remanded. Justice Hobbs, joined by Chief Justice Bender, dissented, arguing that Colorado precedent required reasonable suspicion and that the majority inadequately addressed stare decisis.