May 14, 2025 – The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest criminal court, is weighing a case that could have significant implications for search-and-seizure protections under the Fourth Amendment. The issue centers around whether a police dog is allowed to insert its nose into an open car window during a traffic stop without a warrant or probable cause. The case stems from the arrest of James-Varnell Organ in Waller County, where a narcotics detection dog named Jaks jumped up on Organ’s vehicle and pushed his nose through an open window during an exterior sniff. Upon alerting...