Supreme Court Protects Against Extending Traffic Stops For Dog Sniffs

“A traffic stop prolonged beyond” the time needed to deal with an alleged traffic violation is “unlawful,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg writes.

Molly Riley / AP

WASHINGTON — Police officers may not extend a completed traffic stop to conduct a dog sniff of the car without reasonable suspicion, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for a six-justice majority of the court, held that "a police stop exceeding the time needed to handle the matter for which the stop was made violates the Constitution's shield against unreasonable seizures."