Hunches and sniff tests are no reason to intercept mail

Hunches and sniff tests are no reason to intercept mail, says Oregon court

An Oregon Court of Appeals panel has ruled that a U.S. postal inspector and Portland police had no legal authority to intercept a man’s package based on their contraband hunches and a police dog’s reaction after sniffing the item…

The Oregonian reports Wednesday’s ruling is expected to affect a long-standing practice of having a postal inspector and two police officers pulling aside and examining express-mail packages at a Portland International Airport postal cargo center without first obtaining search warrants…